More on S&S
Since I was on the far side of vague yesterday, I thought it'd be easier to explain my reaction in a new post.
I was fully expecting to enjoy yet another Andrew Davies screenplay, and did like that they began by showing Willoughby's seduction and abandonment of Eliza Williams, Col. Brandon's ward. But there were several WTF moments for me throughout the production.
The first came in part one where Col. Brandon pulls Willoughby aside to demand his intentions towards Marianne. Excuse me, but first off he has no right to demand this, more especially since both he and Willoughby are just acquainted with the Dashwoods, and second, why depart from the novel in such an unnecessary way? If you want a novice viewer to understand that Col. Brandon's in love with Marianne by now, show them. It's not like they hadn't established this anyway by this point in the adaptation anyway.
Then there's Margaret Dashwood. The kid has hardly any lines in the book. OK, but not only are we going to give her some more prominence, we're going to have her complain about being a girl and not being allowed to do the kinds of things boys do, like have a career. The fact that they went with nicknames for Elinor and Margaret (Elly and Meg) would've been fine (Jane was called Jenny by her family as a child), except that 'Meg' pulled me right out of the story and kept making me think of Meg March in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women which made me think of Jo March and her and Marmee's speeches on the rights of women. This would be fine except for the fact that JA is more subtle than this at this point in her career, which is one of her strengths I think. Maybe Davies wanted to pull in something from her Juvenalia. But if that's the case, dude, write screenplays of those stories.
And then we have Mrs. Dashwood wanting to write to Edward to invite him to stay with them. O_o OK, Mrs. Dashwood may not be the sharpest tack in the novel, but why would she do this? She'd already invited him verbally earlier; that was enough.
And can someone please tell me why Barton Cottage suddenly became Barton Cottage on the blustery cliffs of Devonshire with an oceanfront view?? And the wintery color palette made me think bleak, Victorian novel; in fact, it was quite Brontë-esque. The contrast to the glowing verdure of the other estates, while cinematographically striking, again seemed unnecessary to me. Yes, the Dashwoods fortunes have become straitened but to make the point this way felt like they were trying to push the novel into the future generation.
Finally, there was the copious borrowing from recent Austen movies: the hands nearly touching on the banister when Marianne and Willoughby visited Allenham (from Becoming Jane); the numerous reiterated scenes from Emma Thompson's version of S&S - Margaret under the table, Marianne confronting Willoughby and then fainting at the London ball, all the principal characters being at said ball; Brandon's finding Marianne in a downpour at Cleveland - recreated almost shot for shot; Elinor and Marianne talking together at night under the covers (the Keira Knightley version of P&P); Elinor walking along the Cobb, reminiscent of Persuasion. It just felt like they were trying to link this version with every conceivable Austen adaptation under the sun,
OH! And let's not forget Brandon going to undress Marianne after telling Elinor and company to get her out of her wet clothes! Even my dad went "WTF?!"
I'm not saying there weren't any good things about this adaptation, because I definitely think there were (cinematography, close keeping to the novel's text), but the deviations were so glaring and felt so unnecessary that it was enough to make me want to scratch my eyes out.
*sigh* Maybe I'm being too critical.
I was fully expecting to enjoy yet another Andrew Davies screenplay, and did like that they began by showing Willoughby's seduction and abandonment of Eliza Williams, Col. Brandon's ward. But there were several WTF moments for me throughout the production.
The first came in part one where Col. Brandon pulls Willoughby aside to demand his intentions towards Marianne. Excuse me, but first off he has no right to demand this, more especially since both he and Willoughby are just acquainted with the Dashwoods, and second, why depart from the novel in such an unnecessary way? If you want a novice viewer to understand that Col. Brandon's in love with Marianne by now, show them. It's not like they hadn't established this anyway by this point in the adaptation anyway.
Then there's Margaret Dashwood. The kid has hardly any lines in the book. OK, but not only are we going to give her some more prominence, we're going to have her complain about being a girl and not being allowed to do the kinds of things boys do, like have a career. The fact that they went with nicknames for Elinor and Margaret (Elly and Meg) would've been fine (Jane was called Jenny by her family as a child), except that 'Meg' pulled me right out of the story and kept making me think of Meg March in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women which made me think of Jo March and her and Marmee's speeches on the rights of women. This would be fine except for the fact that JA is more subtle than this at this point in her career, which is one of her strengths I think. Maybe Davies wanted to pull in something from her Juvenalia. But if that's the case, dude, write screenplays of those stories.
And then we have Mrs. Dashwood wanting to write to Edward to invite him to stay with them. O_o OK, Mrs. Dashwood may not be the sharpest tack in the novel, but why would she do this? She'd already invited him verbally earlier; that was enough.
And can someone please tell me why Barton Cottage suddenly became Barton Cottage on the blustery cliffs of Devonshire with an oceanfront view?? And the wintery color palette made me think bleak, Victorian novel; in fact, it was quite Brontë-esque. The contrast to the glowing verdure of the other estates, while cinematographically striking, again seemed unnecessary to me. Yes, the Dashwoods fortunes have become straitened but to make the point this way felt like they were trying to push the novel into the future generation.
Finally, there was the copious borrowing from recent Austen movies: the hands nearly touching on the banister when Marianne and Willoughby visited Allenham (from Becoming Jane); the numerous reiterated scenes from Emma Thompson's version of S&S - Margaret under the table, Marianne confronting Willoughby and then fainting at the London ball, all the principal characters being at said ball; Brandon's finding Marianne in a downpour at Cleveland - recreated almost shot for shot; Elinor and Marianne talking together at night under the covers (the Keira Knightley version of P&P); Elinor walking along the Cobb, reminiscent of Persuasion. It just felt like they were trying to link this version with every conceivable Austen adaptation under the sun,
OH! And let's not forget Brandon going to undress Marianne after telling Elinor and company to get her out of her wet clothes! Even my dad went "WTF?!"
I'm not saying there weren't any good things about this adaptation, because I definitely think there were (cinematography, close keeping to the novel's text), but the deviations were so glaring and felt so unnecessary that it was enough to make me want to scratch my eyes out.
*sigh* Maybe I'm being too critical.