Lost in Austen

This is my recommended movie of the week ~ Lost in Austen. In a nutshell, the movie is about a present day girl (Amanda Price)--an ardent Austen/Pride & Prejudice fan--who ends up swapping places with the apparently not-so-fictional Elizabeth Bennet. Of course, Amanda knows exactly who everyone is and what should happen with them all, but things don't quite go as they ought to, and Amanda feels that it's up to her to fix things and get the story back on track.
If you know the story of Pride & Prejudice well, this movie will be hilarious to you, as it's full of inside jokes about the book and its characters. All of the actors are great. In fact, if they used this cast to do the real Pride & Prejudice, it would be perfect.

Amanda Price (aka, the substitute Elizabeth Bennet) is played by Jemima Rooper, and the real Elizabeth Bennet is played by Gemma Arterton. Mr. Darcy is played by Elliot Cowan, and Bingley is played by Tom Mison.

This is one of the funniest parts of the movie ~ 

"I am having a bit of a strange post-modern moment here" (Amanda)

The Bennet sisters ~

Jane, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia

Darcy, Caroline Bingley, and Charles Bingley

Mr. Wickham, Lydia Bennet, Kitty Bennet, Jane Bennet, Amanda Price, Mary Bennet, Mrs. Bennet

This movie is clean, funny, and just all-around enjoyable. I love the changes they made to the story... how things go wrong, for Amanda to try to fix (like Jane marrying Mr. Collins); but mostly I like the change they made with Wickham. We all know the story of what Wickham did to Georgiana and how he wronged her and Darcy, etc. But in this version they completely change that, and make it so Wickham comes across as a "bad" character, but is quite the opposite. He's actually one of my favourite characters in the whole movie ~ especially when he purposely causes trouble (ie: telling everyone that Amanda's father was a notorious fish-monger), and proves to be the most helpful and dedicated friend to Amanda at times when she needs his help ("Everyone you love, Miss Price, will one day prise your fingers from the raft and watch you drown. Everyone, Miss Price, except me.")

This following clip is one of my favourite parts of the whole movie... 

And then Charles' comment after:
"Brava, Miss Price! And whenever life is getting me down, I shall be sure to go downtown."

Anyway, that's my recommendation today. If you get a chance to watch this movie someday, I hope you enjoy it and get a good laugh from it! 

New Emma

I just discovered, by chance the other day, that there was a new version of Jane Austen's Emma made by the BBC. I love it when the BBC does these classic movies because they really go by the book. So I was pretty excited just knowing there was a new Austen movie out; and then was even more excited when I saw the cast! There's so many great actors/actresses in this one. First there's Romola Garai, who plays Emma (and she's pretty much exactly what I always pictured Emma to look like); Michael Gambon plays Emma's father (what a great character!!); and best of all, Mr. Knightly is played by Jonny Lee Miller (who played my favourite character in Mansfield Park - Edmund Bertram).

Emma & Mr. Knightly

This version of Emma is approximately 4 hours long and comes in 4 parts. You can see some clips and read character bios on the BBC site for it here.
It's kind of funny how many versions there are of all of Jane Austen's books. Here's what's all out there:
(note: I've put stars next to my favourites!)

PRIDE & PREJUDICE:
~ "Big Screen" version, with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier (1940)

~ BBC version, with no one I know (1980)

~ BBC version, with Colin Firth (1995) ***

~ "Big Screen" version, with Kiera Knightly and Matthew MacFadyen (2005) ***

PERSUASION:
~ BBC version, with no one I know (1960)
~ BBC version, with no one I know (1971)
~ "Big Screen" version, with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root (1995)
~ ITV version, with Sally Hawkins and Rupert Penry-Jones (2007) ***

EMMA:

~ "Big Screen" version, with Gwenyth Paltrow (1996) ***

~ ITV version, with Kate Beckinsale (1996)

~ BBC version, with Romola Garai (2009) ***

SENSE & SENSIBILITY:

~ BBC version, with no one I know (1981)

~ "Big Screen" version, with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson (1995) ***

~ BBC version, with no one I know (2008)

MANSFIELD PARK:
~ BBC version, with no one I know (1983)
~ "Big Screen" version, with Jonny Lee Miller and Frances O'Connor (1999) ***
~ ITV version, with Billie Piper (2007) ***


NORTHANGER ABBEY:
~ BBC version, with no one I know (1986)
~ ITV version, with no one I know (2007) ***

Suffice it to say, there's lots!! I guess people just can't get enough of them!