I Wonder what House Makes of Classic Literature
So this is pretty interesting: Why Heroines Die in Classic Fiction because some of us (i.e. me) aren’t satisfied with ‘fever.’ I know it’s asking a bit much given the medical practices of the times to expect a diagnosis from an author, but, as the article points out, it does seem that as soon as a female characters so much as gets wet she drops down dead and I want something more than that.
Anyway, I’m always curious about these things. I found out a few years ago that a few of my distant and long-dead relatives died ‘of a broken heart’, and since in the world outside of George Lukas’ head, people don’t actually die of heartbreak, I’m thinking that’s a euphemism for suicide, which, given that depression runs in the family (so far, thankfully, I’ve dodged that bullet), isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
I finally got to see Atonement last night. It’s not easy finding a time when my flatmate and I aren’t either working or going out and there’s nothing good on TV. Anyway, I was impressed and I was impressed for different reasons than I thought I would be.
The film is beautifully throughout, and the performances amazing. James McAvoy is, well, James McAvoy, he's been brilliant in everything I’ve seen him in. Keira Knightly holds herself like a 1940s Hollywood movie star throughout and I adore her for it. Vanessa Redgrave does absolutely amazing things with five minutes of screen time, and I can’t wait to see what the actress who plays young Bryony does in the Lovely Bones, because she’s quite something. Oh, and Benedict Cumberbatch it in it - he seems to show up in nearly every British movie I’ve watched this year Starter for 10, Amazing Grace and now Atonement.
The romance it central to the movie, and I thought going in that was going to be the factor that would impress me most. Though the reason you really have to see Atonement is the war scenes. You don’t see battle at all, instead there’s a shot of the beach at Dunkirk following the character through the devastation and misery in one incredibly long tracking shot. The camera never stops and, it’s an amazing scene. And it’s not just Dunkirk, it’s also the arrival of the wounded from France into Britain which explores the nurses’ role in war, which I have never seen portrayed in a movie before (my flatmate tells me Pearl Harbour did, but you’d have to pay me to get me to watch Pearl Harbour).
Anyway, I’m always curious about these things. I found out a few years ago that a few of my distant and long-dead relatives died ‘of a broken heart’, and since in the world outside of George Lukas’ head, people don’t actually die of heartbreak, I’m thinking that’s a euphemism for suicide, which, given that depression runs in the family (so far, thankfully, I’ve dodged that bullet), isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
I finally got to see Atonement last night. It’s not easy finding a time when my flatmate and I aren’t either working or going out and there’s nothing good on TV. Anyway, I was impressed and I was impressed for different reasons than I thought I would be.
The film is beautifully throughout, and the performances amazing. James McAvoy is, well, James McAvoy, he's been brilliant in everything I’ve seen him in. Keira Knightly holds herself like a 1940s Hollywood movie star throughout and I adore her for it. Vanessa Redgrave does absolutely amazing things with five minutes of screen time, and I can’t wait to see what the actress who plays young Bryony does in the Lovely Bones, because she’s quite something. Oh, and Benedict Cumberbatch it in it - he seems to show up in nearly every British movie I’ve watched this year Starter for 10, Amazing Grace and now Atonement.
The romance it central to the movie, and I thought going in that was going to be the factor that would impress me most. Though the reason you really have to see Atonement is the war scenes. You don’t see battle at all, instead there’s a shot of the beach at Dunkirk following the character through the devastation and misery in one incredibly long tracking shot. The camera never stops and, it’s an amazing scene. And it’s not just Dunkirk, it’s also the arrival of the wounded from France into Britain which explores the nurses’ role in war, which I have never seen portrayed in a movie before (my flatmate tells me Pearl Harbour did, but you’d have to pay me to get me to watch Pearl Harbour).