What to think of a film that has the most literary references than any since 'Love and Death'. The danger here is that those with little knowledge of Jane Austen will have no understanding of what is going on since the dialogue twists and turns on discussions of characters and themes in 200 year old novels.
But unlike a Woody Allen punch line comedy full of in-context jokes, you do not need a complete understanding of Austen to appreciate this literate work. The reason Jane Austen interests people two centuries later are the universality of her themes. Seeing these themes played out can work at many levels. Addicts will revel in the dialogue's appreciative in jokes. Those with some experience like me will pick up things here and there while enjoying the whirling dervish playing out in the verbal repartee. Neophytes will simply enjoy the characters living out these timeless motifs likely leaving desirous to learn more.
Some have complained about the lack of directorial artifices to woo us here and there. What better way to emphasize the literacy of it all by letting good actors use wordplays to move us instead. If this is too subtle for you, 'American Gangster' awaits.
Others have complained about obvious symbolism in the characters. A woman trapped in her time, Austen wailed subtly against her capture by focusing thematically on one potential way out through love and relationships. The film and the book it is based on strive to provide a meaningful glimpse into the core themes of this wonderful writer and how for the most part these strivings remain among us as lively as ever. If the characters are archetypes, they are necessarily so and once understood become more powerful in their abstraction.
But it is their likability that rues the day and throughout you feel for them as they traipse through their foibles. The fixer who cares more for the happiness of others than her own, a defense mechanism against longed for passion. The mother who wades through the ultimate disappointment with courage that makes her stronger when her dreams of marital bliss return. The aggressive young lesbian courageously bouncing between adventures until disappointed into seeking another. The young teacher walking to the edge of a potentially luxurious mistake and passionately imploring her man to save her from herself through Austen. The older woman wanting to keep tasting because the effort, though difficult, is worth it. And in the middle, the almost goofy, literature driven, emo-dreamboat who attracts them all in various ways though suffering from an almost paralyzing inhibition ultimately resolved
Unfortunately most men won't get it or even take the time to appreciate it all. In my screening, women outnumbered men 17-2. In the end this intelligent, optimistic feminism may have too small an audience to save itself from obscurity, but if it ends up a voice in the wilderness, it is far better left said than not.
But unlike a Woody Allen punch line comedy full of in-context jokes, you do not need a complete understanding of Austen to appreciate this literate work. The reason Jane Austen interests people two centuries later are the universality of her themes. Seeing these themes played out can work at many levels. Addicts will revel in the dialogue's appreciative in jokes. Those with some experience like me will pick up things here and there while enjoying the whirling dervish playing out in the verbal repartee. Neophytes will simply enjoy the characters living out these timeless motifs likely leaving desirous to learn more.
Some have complained about the lack of directorial artifices to woo us here and there. What better way to emphasize the literacy of it all by letting good actors use wordplays to move us instead. If this is too subtle for you, 'American Gangster' awaits.
Others have complained about obvious symbolism in the characters. A woman trapped in her time, Austen wailed subtly against her capture by focusing thematically on one potential way out through love and relationships. The film and the book it is based on strive to provide a meaningful glimpse into the core themes of this wonderful writer and how for the most part these strivings remain among us as lively as ever. If the characters are archetypes, they are necessarily so and once understood become more powerful in their abstraction.
But it is their likability that rues the day and throughout you feel for them as they traipse through their foibles. The fixer who cares more for the happiness of others than her own, a defense mechanism against longed for passion. The mother who wades through the ultimate disappointment with courage that makes her stronger when her dreams of marital bliss return. The aggressive young lesbian courageously bouncing between adventures until disappointed into seeking another. The young teacher walking to the edge of a potentially luxurious mistake and passionately imploring her man to save her from herself through Austen. The older woman wanting to keep tasting because the effort, though difficult, is worth it. And in the middle, the almost goofy, literature driven, emo-dreamboat who attracts them all in various ways though suffering from an almost paralyzing inhibition ultimately resolved
Unfortunately most men won't get it or even take the time to appreciate it all. In my screening, women outnumbered men 17-2. In the end this intelligent, optimistic feminism may have too small an audience to save itself from obscurity, but if it ends up a voice in the wilderness, it is far better left said than not.