AnaR

TSD must not be judged alongside the earlier great miniseries. The film has to be allowed to stand on its own. Similarly, it is not a film that is typical of Hollywood, so viewers can't expect the same 'stah vehicle', facile storytelling and gratuitous titillation's that come out of Tinseltown. TSD is a complex, convoluted story that requires the audience to think intelligently, to remain aware and to be able to recollect what has gone before.

I found this film to be confronting, nasty, funny, moving, neurotic and deeply sad. IMO, Downey is a good enough actor to not need his fans to keep on harping about his past notoriety and drug abuses. He's an actor. He knows how to act and do that very well indeed. He played the tortured man in TSD with exactly the kind of skill and conviction that I would expect of a man of his talents. It is an excellent portrayal but not, imo, a great one. Katie Holmes's prettiness stood her in good stead, but apart from that, almost any of the current crop of young actresses could have done as well. I fail to see why a wig and a prosthetic nose should win Mel Gibson such acclaim for his rather mundane performance. Robyn Wright Penn was utterly convincing as was Carla Gugino. I liked Adrian Brody's shifty stand over man. But for me, the real standout performance was Jeremy Northam's as the handsome, oily, despicable, decadent and seductive Binney. I have read many times that Northam strives to select widely diverse roles, that he does not want to ever be typecast, that he never wants to be choked by wing collars again etc. Well, in TSD, he is about as far from Mr Knightly or Prince Amerigo or Wigram etc as he could possibly be! Here is a marvellously gifted character actor who is able to transform himself on screen in a truly powerful way. I am a great fan of Northam's acting but I confess that I found some of his scenes in TSD to be almost too confronting for comfort, but TSD is not about coddling its audience. The sum of its parts are intentionally awkward and messy, as a metaphor for Dark's life, and so it is entirely appropriate that the characters convey these conflicts too. I would recommend this film to any who like a challenge, who are not afraid of having to think, and who are brave enough to take a step out of their own comfort zone.

By no means my favourite Austen novel, and Paltrow is by no means my favourite actress, but I found the film almost totally delightful. Paltrow does a good job, and Cummings, Stevenson and the one who plays 'Miss Bates' are all absolutely terrific. The period detail is not alienating; the feel of the movie is just right, in fact. But the real 'find' is Jeremy Northam as Mr Knightley. There could not be more perfect casting, IMO. I hated Mr K in the novel, but found him wonderfully human and humane in the film. Northam's good looks and smiling eyes are no hindrance to enjoyment, either! Highly recommended. AnaR