Sense & Sensibility
Well, that was 3 hours well-spent. I've been on a Sense & Sensibility kick recently, so the new adaptation came at a perfect time. And I really enjoyed it! I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed it....
Anyways, Elinor was amazing. I really liked her, although was it just me or did she sound very like Emma Thompson? That kind of threw me off a bit--everyone in this version was cast age-appropriate, so sometimes when she talked and sounded like Emma Thompson, she would seem way older, and thus throw off the whole balance/age thing.
Marianne was wonderful too--I've always found Marianne somewhat annoying, but this Marianne didn't annoy me. She was silly, and young, and naive, but never annoying. Just young and self-indulgent, and inexperienced. I liked her hair. :)
Edward--dude, Edward is insanely attractive, especially that first meeting with the hat. Wow... :) I liked this Edward much better than Hugh Grant's spineless stutterer. When he stood up to his mother for Lucy, even though he really didn't want to, it was just awesome. To use a dramatic phrase, it seemed to me the epitome of manliness and the soul of honor. To have made a commitment, and to honor it, believing that Lucy wanted to go through with the commitment. What a classy guy. And he's cute--seriously, that woodpile scene? Awesome-ness. Clearly Andrew Davies believes Austen fans like guys in wet white shirts. Which apparently, most of us do. :) At least, we like them better than the random gratuitous sex/sexed up scenes that he loves to toss in!
Willoughby--did anyone else get emo-goth freaky hair whiny guy vibes? Seriously, his hair bothered me. And he looked to me like a whiny, selfish, over indulged teenager. He didn't seem like the polished libertine we get the impression he is from that first (completely random!!!!!!) sex scene at the beginning, although I guess not portraying him as a consummate libertine makes the idea of him actually falling for Marianne more plausible.
Brandon--I liked how they showed him doing very active things--the horse, being able to carry Marianne without staggering, the falcon, the hunting, and of course, the duel. He actually seems like a 35 year old man (although he still looked a bit older than that, or maybe I just can't tell ages), which was nice. The duel was pretty cool too. :) And the whole catching Marianne when she faints at the ball? Brilliant!
I loved all the shots of the sea--gorgeous! To be able to stand and stare into the sea like the girls are constantly doing? Dude, sign me up! The music was of course absolutely fabulous. I loved the opening credits song, and then when Edward and Elinor kiss, the music reminded me a little of the train scene in North & South--the melody being carried on one instrument alone, and light accompaniment/orchestrations underneath the solo melody. It didn't sound like the music from the train scene, but it was orchestrated very similarly. They need to release this score on CD--or perhaps a "the scores of Martin Phipps" CD or something... :)
The "artsy" out of focus/fishbowl/odd perspective shots got very old very quickly. Clearly I'm not a fan of ambitious camerawork, but they got on my nerves, especially in the first episode. Either the shots got more normal or I got more wrapped up in the story, but it didn't bother me as much in the later episodes. But they felt a little excessive throughout the whole thing.
My real qualm with this version, although I really did enjoy it, was the endings. Marianne is (as she should be) a very turbulent, emotional character, and yet at the end we are denied any feeling of conclusion or fulfillment in seeing her safely engaged--instead we get this randomly tossed in "Col. Brandon asked me to marry him." I don't mind not seeing the proposal, but it was just so very anti-climactic for such a dramatic character. Yes, she's matured, but it didn't gel for me, especially since that very tiny montage of scenes of her falling for Brandon also didn't quite gel for me. I love Brandon, and I love Marianne, but together? This one didn't quite work. I didn't understand why, in the beginning, Brandon would immediately fall for Marianne. There seemed to be no real reason for it--the book said he should fall in love with her immediately, so he does, but this version didn't quite show me what it is about Marianne that immediately bewitches him. And likewise, I didn't quite see why Marianne suddenly falls in love with him--admit it, when he says "come" during the falcon scene, that's more creepy than anything else! But Brandon did play the silent lover very well--I totally bought that he loves Marianne, just wasn't sure why.... And again, the random shot of him carrying her into the house--do we really need to do the spinny camera thing? It gives me a headache. Also, much as I love Edward and Elinor, why was he chasing chickens? Elinor seemed to have the same reaction I did--"you crazy man, what are you doing? :) Basically, I felt a lack of completion/closure/fulfillment/whatever at the end. The arcs didn't seem to be quite as resolved as I would have liked, although I guess I don't know how more "resolved" I wanted them! I guess the tone of the endings (for each couple) weren't quite as keeping with the tones of each couple's relationship arc.
But I really did enjoy it, and I will definitely be buying this one. On that note, did they take cut anything out of the UK release for the US release? I hate it when they do that, and I know they did it for "Northanger Abbey," the other new version they did that I absolutely adored. *sigh* I don't think I'll compare the two versions, because I really really liked Emma Thompson's version, and I really really like this one. They are both very good, and will reside peacefully together on my DVD shelf. Two stellar versions of a beautiful story. You know, when I first read this book, I didn't much care for it. I need to re-read it, because it's been growing on me. I find myself identifying more and more with Elinor, although I lack an Edward. :(
Oh, and the Steele sisters and Fanny in this? Fabulous! I loved all three of them, especially Anne. She cracked me up--"I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" And Fanny's little boy? Priceless, just for the visual humor! Nicely done. I think that can sum up the whole film: Nicely done.
Anyways, Elinor was amazing. I really liked her, although was it just me or did she sound very like Emma Thompson? That kind of threw me off a bit--everyone in this version was cast age-appropriate, so sometimes when she talked and sounded like Emma Thompson, she would seem way older, and thus throw off the whole balance/age thing.
Marianne was wonderful too--I've always found Marianne somewhat annoying, but this Marianne didn't annoy me. She was silly, and young, and naive, but never annoying. Just young and self-indulgent, and inexperienced. I liked her hair. :)
Edward--dude, Edward is insanely attractive, especially that first meeting with the hat. Wow... :) I liked this Edward much better than Hugh Grant's spineless stutterer. When he stood up to his mother for Lucy, even though he really didn't want to, it was just awesome. To use a dramatic phrase, it seemed to me the epitome of manliness and the soul of honor. To have made a commitment, and to honor it, believing that Lucy wanted to go through with the commitment. What a classy guy. And he's cute--seriously, that woodpile scene? Awesome-ness. Clearly Andrew Davies believes Austen fans like guys in wet white shirts. Which apparently, most of us do. :) At least, we like them better than the random gratuitous sex/sexed up scenes that he loves to toss in!
Willoughby--did anyone else get emo-goth freaky hair whiny guy vibes? Seriously, his hair bothered me. And he looked to me like a whiny, selfish, over indulged teenager. He didn't seem like the polished libertine we get the impression he is from that first (completely random!!!!!!) sex scene at the beginning, although I guess not portraying him as a consummate libertine makes the idea of him actually falling for Marianne more plausible.
Brandon--I liked how they showed him doing very active things--the horse, being able to carry Marianne without staggering, the falcon, the hunting, and of course, the duel. He actually seems like a 35 year old man (although he still looked a bit older than that, or maybe I just can't tell ages), which was nice. The duel was pretty cool too. :) And the whole catching Marianne when she faints at the ball? Brilliant!
I loved all the shots of the sea--gorgeous! To be able to stand and stare into the sea like the girls are constantly doing? Dude, sign me up! The music was of course absolutely fabulous. I loved the opening credits song, and then when Edward and Elinor kiss, the music reminded me a little of the train scene in North & South--the melody being carried on one instrument alone, and light accompaniment/orchestrations underneath the solo melody. It didn't sound like the music from the train scene, but it was orchestrated very similarly. They need to release this score on CD--or perhaps a "the scores of Martin Phipps" CD or something... :)
The "artsy" out of focus/fishbowl/odd perspective shots got very old very quickly. Clearly I'm not a fan of ambitious camerawork, but they got on my nerves, especially in the first episode. Either the shots got more normal or I got more wrapped up in the story, but it didn't bother me as much in the later episodes. But they felt a little excessive throughout the whole thing.
My real qualm with this version, although I really did enjoy it, was the endings. Marianne is (as she should be) a very turbulent, emotional character, and yet at the end we are denied any feeling of conclusion or fulfillment in seeing her safely engaged--instead we get this randomly tossed in "Col. Brandon asked me to marry him." I don't mind not seeing the proposal, but it was just so very anti-climactic for such a dramatic character. Yes, she's matured, but it didn't gel for me, especially since that very tiny montage of scenes of her falling for Brandon also didn't quite gel for me. I love Brandon, and I love Marianne, but together? This one didn't quite work. I didn't understand why, in the beginning, Brandon would immediately fall for Marianne. There seemed to be no real reason for it--the book said he should fall in love with her immediately, so he does, but this version didn't quite show me what it is about Marianne that immediately bewitches him. And likewise, I didn't quite see why Marianne suddenly falls in love with him--admit it, when he says "come" during the falcon scene, that's more creepy than anything else! But Brandon did play the silent lover very well--I totally bought that he loves Marianne, just wasn't sure why.... And again, the random shot of him carrying her into the house--do we really need to do the spinny camera thing? It gives me a headache. Also, much as I love Edward and Elinor, why was he chasing chickens? Elinor seemed to have the same reaction I did--"you crazy man, what are you doing? :) Basically, I felt a lack of completion/closure/fulfillment/whatever at the end. The arcs didn't seem to be quite as resolved as I would have liked, although I guess I don't know how more "resolved" I wanted them! I guess the tone of the endings (for each couple) weren't quite as keeping with the tones of each couple's relationship arc.
But I really did enjoy it, and I will definitely be buying this one. On that note, did they take cut anything out of the UK release for the US release? I hate it when they do that, and I know they did it for "Northanger Abbey," the other new version they did that I absolutely adored. *sigh* I don't think I'll compare the two versions, because I really really liked Emma Thompson's version, and I really really like this one. They are both very good, and will reside peacefully together on my DVD shelf. Two stellar versions of a beautiful story. You know, when I first read this book, I didn't much care for it. I need to re-read it, because it's been growing on me. I find myself identifying more and more with Elinor, although I lack an Edward. :(
Oh, and the Steele sisters and Fanny in this? Fabulous! I loved all three of them, especially Anne. She cracked me up--"I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" And Fanny's little boy? Priceless, just for the visual humor! Nicely done. I think that can sum up the whole film: Nicely done.