meemsyd

I haven't read the novel this is based on, so am not judging this film as an adaptation, but simply as a story.

Our main character is a complex and flawed person who goes on an emotional journey to open up to the wider joys of life, which is a good story and I was entertained throughout.

However, most of the story is based around a sexual relationship which is the means of that emotional change, all well and good, but I felt something missing in the emotional bond with the characters. The erotic scenes are well shot and pretty realistic, but felt cold for some reason, perhaps due to blue toned lighting, and eerie music. There was not a whole lot of conversation or sense of building an emotional bond, which made it feel to me like there was a lack of chemistry and made it hard to buy the love story. I was not sure at what point they actually fell in love, or whether it was just a fleeting affair borne from loneliness, and I'm not sure the viewer was meant to be left with that kind of doubt.

Northanger Abbey is a novel that takes place primarily inside the main character's thoughts, so it's a difficult one to translate to screen. This adaptation does a pretty good job though.

Felicity Jones is charming and portrays the kindly naivety and fantastical thinking of Catherine well, and JJ Fields does well to capture Tilney's boyish kindhearted charm. Carey Mulligan is also a joy as Cathy's fairweather friend Isabella.

The representation of the social environment in Bath was bustling and realistic, the Gothic horror vibes are present at the right times, and the dream sequences are charming and funny. The story progresses at a nice pace and all the important moments are given good weight to create a satisfying story overall!

I enjoyed the movie, have never read the book but plan to. The cinematography was gripping and the story moves at a good pace with many happenings.

I will say, not being familiar the story prior, I had some trouble understanding who was who and what they had done, and I also thought the first half could have been shortened without affecting the story, but as it was it served to highlight a certain story point.

I commend Pierre Niney's performance as Edmund, he was captivating on screen, and almost every actor was the same. I guess my negative gripe would be some of the modern hair and fabrics for the women's costuming made it hard to suspend disbelief sometimes, with a story which is already pretty fantastical at times too.