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mason-melissa
Reviews
Northanger Abbey (2007)
The best of the current offerings
Having suffered through Persuasion and Mansfield Park I was expecting very little from this production, particularly as the tongue-in-cheek humour in the novel is missed by so many readers. However, Andrew Davies pulled it off (again) mainly by introducing some over-the-top Gothic scenes into the narrative, which helped to set the tone, and padding out some of the minor characters - particularly Thorpe, who was truly repulsive. JJ Field was an amazingly attractive Tilney with his gentle mocking of Catherine and his twinkly eyes. Felicity Jones carried Catherine's wide-eyed innocence and trusting naivety off a treat and I really felt her distress at upsetting Tilney - a nice twist by Andrew Davies which would have made JA proud.
Persuasion (2007)
Dreadful
I don't really think I can say I was disappointed by this as I had no hopes of Rupert Penry-Jones' ability to pull off such a complex character as Wentworth. However, I have to say that with a better screenplay, this could have been a fine example of TV Jane Austen instead of the drivel it ended up. There were some good performances but the poor screen play forced the actors to narrate the story (a contrivance I abhor) and look meaningfully into the camera! Please no! As for the screenplay, it would appear the screenwriter had used the earlier, 1995 version as a base for his work rather than reading the actual book. He then took liberties with the whole story, stripping it of its wit, depth and humour. Will someone save us from bad adaptations of wonderful books which are, contrary to this tripe, as relevant today as ever they were.