Lost in Austen
Being that I live in the US and only have had BBC America during my time in NM (thanks to DirecTV), I'd been totally unaware of a British miniseries called Lost in Austen. The premise: Modern chick obsessed with Pride and Prejudice finds Elizabeth Bennett in her bathroom one evening. Lizzie, having found a portal that connects Longbourn with modern day London, proceeds to swap places with Amanda Price. Hilarity ensues.
Obviously, this is pretty much filmed fanfiction. But whatever. It was fun. It takes a story that's been done (and done, and done, and sometimes done with zombies) and turns it on its head. Things aren't quite as they seem in the novel: for starters, Darcy is pretty much a douche with few redeeming qualities (more on this later), Wickham may not be a villain afterall, and *gasp* Mr. Collins has siblings who are worse than he is.
The first two episodes of the four part series are really stellar. The romantic pairings start to go awry and there are moments of true uncertainty about if this is going to all end up allright or not. The second two episodes, in which Amanda and Darcy begin to heat up, fizzle a bit in comparison. I think the main cause is that the leads just don't have that much chemistry. It's hard not to compare them to Ehle/Firth and Knightley/Macfayden. Even so, there's just not any zing. (Aside: I know I will shock you all, but I actually prefer Macfayden to Firth when it comes to Darcys. I think he did a better job of portraying the desperate sensitivity that underlies Darcy's stiff pride.)
Of course, this can't only be blamed on the chemistry thing-- the writing and pacing are also to blame. Despite her open-mouthed stare of shock (that often looked a bit trout-y), Jemima Rooper as Amanda had great comedic timing and really sells some jokes. Unfortunately, she just didn't have enough to work with when it came to the emotional sense of the love story. You see, part of the comedy of the series is that Amanda Price is far too "indelicate" for the times-- it's like sending Bridget Jones back in Lizzie's place. The contrast is funny. She's constantly getting it wrong and has absolutely no couth whatsoever. Unfortunately, her fangirling aside, it doesn't make for a great pairing with the most stone-faced, stick-up-the-ass Darcy we've seen yet, played by Elliot Cowan. Amanda knows about Darcy's softer side (from the book) and still finds him to be an irredemable ass in person. Yet, they somehow go from "I hate you I hate you I hate you" to "I am madly, inexplicably in love with you" with very little actual development in character. There's no good deeds to set things aright, no evolution of inner feelings shown. Just "this is how I really feel and I knowingly hid it under the pretense of being a bastard, which I mostly am anyway, so it's hard to tell." Um. Neh, I'll pass. That's not sweeping romance, that's being a prize idiot.
But! The supporting players are great. Hugh Bonneville, a great character actor who does a lot of Austen material, is fantastic as Mr. Bennett. Morven Christie is sweet and beautiful as a Jane who has good reason to give into despair. Tom Riley gives Wickham some real depth and charm in the few scenes he had.
Now... the ending. Mostly, I'm kinda meh. The events go from completely borked to happily ever after in literally five minutes, which felt rushed and unsatisfying. I found myself wondering why Amanda didn't just ditch Mr. Emotionally Stunted Stuffypants and ride off with Wickham instead. They at least had chemistry.
Anyhow, for the devout Austen fan, I'd say watch it. It's fun to see some characters completely re-written, and worth it for the costumes, many of which were borrowed from other Austen adaptations.
Obviously, this is pretty much filmed fanfiction. But whatever. It was fun. It takes a story that's been done (and done, and done, and sometimes done with zombies) and turns it on its head. Things aren't quite as they seem in the novel: for starters, Darcy is pretty much a douche with few redeeming qualities (more on this later), Wickham may not be a villain afterall, and *gasp* Mr. Collins has siblings who are worse than he is.
The first two episodes of the four part series are really stellar. The romantic pairings start to go awry and there are moments of true uncertainty about if this is going to all end up allright or not. The second two episodes, in which Amanda and Darcy begin to heat up, fizzle a bit in comparison. I think the main cause is that the leads just don't have that much chemistry. It's hard not to compare them to Ehle/Firth and Knightley/Macfayden. Even so, there's just not any zing. (Aside: I know I will shock you all, but I actually prefer Macfayden to Firth when it comes to Darcys. I think he did a better job of portraying the desperate sensitivity that underlies Darcy's stiff pride.)
Of course, this can't only be blamed on the chemistry thing-- the writing and pacing are also to blame. Despite her open-mouthed stare of shock (that often looked a bit trout-y), Jemima Rooper as Amanda had great comedic timing and really sells some jokes. Unfortunately, she just didn't have enough to work with when it came to the emotional sense of the love story. You see, part of the comedy of the series is that Amanda Price is far too "indelicate" for the times-- it's like sending Bridget Jones back in Lizzie's place. The contrast is funny. She's constantly getting it wrong and has absolutely no couth whatsoever. Unfortunately, her fangirling aside, it doesn't make for a great pairing with the most stone-faced, stick-up-the-ass Darcy we've seen yet, played by Elliot Cowan. Amanda knows about Darcy's softer side (from the book) and still finds him to be an irredemable ass in person. Yet, they somehow go from "I hate you I hate you I hate you" to "I am madly, inexplicably in love with you" with very little actual development in character. There's no good deeds to set things aright, no evolution of inner feelings shown. Just "this is how I really feel and I knowingly hid it under the pretense of being a bastard, which I mostly am anyway, so it's hard to tell." Um. Neh, I'll pass. That's not sweeping romance, that's being a prize idiot.
But! The supporting players are great. Hugh Bonneville, a great character actor who does a lot of Austen material, is fantastic as Mr. Bennett. Morven Christie is sweet and beautiful as a Jane who has good reason to give into despair. Tom Riley gives Wickham some real depth and charm in the few scenes he had.
Now... the ending. Mostly, I'm kinda meh. The events go from completely borked to happily ever after in literally five minutes, which felt rushed and unsatisfying. I found myself wondering why Amanda didn't just ditch Mr. Emotionally Stunted Stuffypants and ride off with Wickham instead. They at least had chemistry.
Anyhow, for the devout Austen fan, I'd say watch it. It's fun to see some characters completely re-written, and worth it for the costumes, many of which were borrowed from other Austen adaptations.