References
Magarette
Connor
 Northanger
Abbey
Mansfield
Park
Persuasion
By putting these three novels
together I don't by any means imply that they are lesser novels, but
they aren't studied in schools as often as Pride and
Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.
And they are not filmed as often, either. But, of course, there are
filmic versions of all three, some of which are quite good.
Northanger Abbey
Published posthumously in 1817,
this is a ripping tale of what trouble an inexperienced young woman's
imagination can get her into. This is the Austen novel I
think of as funniest, as Catherine Morland seems like a typical
sheltered teenager. Her willingness to believe her beloved
Gothic novels have anything to do with real life in rural England make
me smile every time I read the book. Change the clothes and
the venue, and we can find Catherine Morlands around us today.
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| Katharine
Schlesinger and Peter Firth. Source: Jane Austen Webcinderios:
http://janeausten.webcindario.com/naadape.html |
One screen version
There is currently one film
version of Northanger Abbey , directed by Giles
Foster in 1986 for television. The film starred Katharine
Schlesinger and Peter Firth as Catherine Morland and Henry Tilney , and
while it was lovely to look at, and on some levels true to Austen's
novel, it has been universally panned by critics and Austenphiles
alike.
The screenplay by Maggie Wadey
makes the story much more of a Gothic romance instead of the mild
satire of the Gothic genre which it is supposed to be.
Instead of making us laugh at Catherine's fears, she increases the
terrors for us.
One way in which Wadey does this
is she adds a number of nightmare scenes for Catherine.
Ironically, the "source" text for some of Catherine's nightmares is Ann
Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho , one of the
texts being gently mocked by Austen's novel.
Another version sits and waits
For the past five
years or so, there has been talk of a new version of Northanger
Abbey with a screenplay by Andrew Davies, who did the
screenplays for the BBC versions of Pride and Prejudice and
Emma. It was originally optioned by Miramax
, but that agreement has been canceled by the studio.
The option was picked up by Granada Television (England),
but because of the prohibitive costs of costume dramas, the project
sits and waits.
Mansfield Park
This was Austen's third published
novel, appearing in 1814 as by “the author Sense and
Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice .”
The story of poor relation Fanny Price, taken in by her
wealthy relatives at Mansfield Park is Austen's most complex novel, but
many modern readers can not empathize with gentle, self-effacing Fanny.
But in spite of Fanny's limited
modern appeal, there have been two filmic version made of her story.
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Frances O'Connor as Fanny
Price.
Source: About.com Worldfilm:
http://worldfilm.about.com/library/99nowplaying/blmansfield%20park.htm
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Mini-series version
The first, directed by David Giles
with screenplay by Kenneth Taylor, was a mini-series for the BBC in
1983. Because of the mini-series format, there was plenty of
time for coverage of the book. And this version did stick
very close to Austen's novel. But it still was not as
popular as hoped.
The problem seemed to lie with the
casting and the acting. Fanny was played by the relative
newcomer Sylvestra Le Touzel , and Edmund Bertram was played by
Nicholas Farrell, also a relative new comer. Both seemed a
little stiff in their parts, and in fact, one adjective often used to
describe this version is “stagy;” another, sadly, is “boring”.
Unfortunately, I tend to agree
with both adjectives, so for any teaching purposes, I would avoid this
version.
Feature Film version
In 1999, Patricia Rozema wrote and
directed quite a lively version of the novel for cinema release.
Starring Australian actor Frances O'Connor as Fanny Price
and Jonny Lee Miller as Edmund Bertram, this version has much more life
and zest, and is quite popular with critics.
(Just a piece of film trivia, in
the 1983 version, an 11-year-old Jonny Lee Miller played Fanny's
brother Charles.)
Many differences
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| Frances
O'Connor and Jonny Lee Miller, Source: Britmovies:
http://www.britmovie.co.uk/genres/drama/filmography/046.html |
There are many changes in this
version of the novel. It has definitely been updated to fit more with
21 st century sensibilities.
One of the biggest changes is to
the character of Fanny herself. This Fanny has spunk.
Rozema created this Fanny by “adding a layer to
Fanny by expressing her interior through [her own] stories which she
tells to her sister. In the book, Fanny is interpreted through Jane
Austen . In the movie, I'm the interpreter. In movies, we have a much
more intimate, visceral relationship with the characters than we
sometimes do in books." She also credits the performances of actors
Hannah Taylor Gordon [young Fanny] and Frances O'Connor for bringing
the character to life and making her accessable to the audience. (
Berardinelli ).
Other changes include highlighting
the issue of slavery, and introducing themes of lesbianism and incest,
themes that Rozema sees as coming from the original work.
And Rozema is unapolegetic to Austen fans who fear she has gone too far
off the mark. “Her intention here was not so much to do a
rote regurgitation of the novel Mansfield Park
but to offer a ‘collage' that is an ‘accurate portrait of Austen and
her work.'” ( Berardinelli ).
While this is not “traditional”
Austen , it is a very good film, and it is a good choice to show an
example of screenwriters using classics as springboards.
Persuasion
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The All-important Fall.
Source: Persuasion Homepage,
http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persuasion/multimedia/stills/AmandaRichardCiaran.jpg
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The haunting novel Persuasion
was written in 1815-1816, while Jane Austen was
suffering from her fatal illness. She was still working on some
revisions at the time of her death in 1817. The novel was published
posthumously by her brother, Henry Austen in 1818.
This is the story of Anne Elliot,
who seven years before the opening of the novel, was “persuaded” by
friends and family to decline the proposal of the young man she really
loved, a penniless seaman, Frederick Wentworth . Shortly
after the book's opening, the still-unmarried Anne meets her former
beau, now the well-off Captain Wentworth . This is a tale of
thwarted expectations, pride and ultimately requited love.
Early mini-series versions
Like all of Austen's other beloved
novels, this was turned into a mini-series more than once.
Early, hard to find versions are the 1960 version directed by Campbell
Logan and starring Daphne Slater as Anne Elliot (she had also played
Elizabeth Barrett in the 1952 version of Pride and Prejudice
).
The second version, directed by
Howard Baker in 1971, starred Anne Firbank as Anne Elliot.
Made for Granada Television, one of the main complaints about this
version is that the then 38-year-old Firbank looked too old even for
the “spinster” Anne Elliot. There are also complaints about
the acting and the costuming. It runs about four hours long,
but most critics and fans agree that it is far inferior to the 1995
version.
Recent Film version
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| Amanda
Root as Anne Eliot. Source: Male Voices: Reviews of Jane Austen Films:
http://www.ashton-dennis.org/dancer2.html |
In 1995 Roger Michell directed a
television film that was released theatrically in the US.
With a screenplay by Nick Dear, this version starred then-32-year-old
Amanda Root as the 27-year-old Anne Elliott. Beautifully
filmed all with natural light and totally on location, this version was
a success, and I highly recommend it.
Most of the actresses also wore no
make-up (only women who would have “powdered” in Austen's book wore
make-up here). As a result, Root looks like a “spinster”
slightly past her prime, which is exactly what Anne Elliot was.
But Root is a highly talented actor for both stage and
screen, and she can express much with her large, expressive eyes.
Even when she has few words, the audience knows exactly
what's going on behind the facade.
Root on her part
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Ciaran Hinds as Capt. Wentworth.
Source: Persuasion Homepage,
http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persuasion/multimedia/stills/CiaranColor2.jpg
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"What I think is hard in any film
adaptation of a book is that you might have a whole chapter written
about your character's feelings, and then you get a couple of scenes on
the film in which you don't say anything. And yet somehow you have to
get across how she's feeling. That's the hardest thing. To strike a
balance between sharing too much or sharing too little, but actually
getting the message across.” (“Amanda Root”)
Root's performance as Anne Elliot
is very nicely balanced by another accomplished stage actor, Ciarán
Hinds, playing Capt. Wentworth . His expressions tell us
much about hurt pride and buried love.
The film is worth watching for the
performances of the two leads, but the supporting actors round out the
film with excellent performances. Sophie Thompson does an
excellent job as Anne's silly, proud younger sister, Maria Musgrove ,
and Fiona Shaw stands out as Mrs. Croft , Capt. Wentworth's sister.
Other cast members worth noting are Colin Redgrave (brother
of Vanessa and Lynn) as Sir Walter Elliot and Phoebe Nicholls as
Elizabeth Elliot. Both convey the blind pride and willful
self-deception of the father and daughter who don't accept that their
money is rapidly coming to an end.
Favorite of Critics
Critics universally praised the
film. The New York Times's review is
an excellent example of what they were saying: “The camera
becomes the visual equivalent of Austen's rich, commenting voice, and
though it cannot be a complete replacement, it is a more than
serviceable one. The camera slyly glances at Mary's sisters-in-law, the
infatuated Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove , when the possibility of
Frederick's marriage is discussed. And the film's visual design
captures the world as Austen saw it. The women wear no makeup. The
characters dine in darkness dramatically lighted by candles, or walk by
the sea in translucent sunlight. On a walk in the woods, the serious
Anne wears a deep green cloak while the frivolous Musgrove women all
wear red. Only the pompous characters look artificial, notably the
Elliots ' garish rich relatives, the Dalrymples ....”
The book “is brilliantly captured
by Mr. Michell , with the screenwriter Nick Dear and a cast completely
in sync with Austen's warm but piercing style. Their "Persuasion" is
profoundly truthful in many ways: in its sense of emotional longing; in
its natural, unglamorized visual beauty, ranging from drawing rooms to
the sea; in its fidelity to the delicate tone of Austen's satire and
romance.” (James)
Sources:
“Amanda Root,” Persuasion,
The Movie , 21 Sept 1995. SONY Pictures. 21 Feb
2005. http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/persuasion/cast/root.html
Berardinelli , James. “The Darker
Side of Jane Austen : Patricia Rozema Talks about Mansfield Park.” 15
Nov 1999. Movie Reviews .
18 Feb 2004. http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/comment/111599.html
James, Caryn . “ Austen
Tale of Lost Love Refound ” Review of Persuasion .
27 Sept 1995. New York Times .
21 Feb 2005. http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?title1=&title2=PERSUASION%20%28MOVIE%29&reviewer=Caryn%20James&pdate=19950927&v_id=134808&reviewer=Caryn%20James
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