A Bela e a Fera

I was hoping this would be a nice little rom com to pass an hour or so.. based on Jane Austen with a decent cast it should have been good... unfortunately not.. as with so many films currently, most of the focus seems to have been on WOKE box ticking rather than the actual storyline, characters or dialogue.

Boring, bad acting, pointless dialogues. 35 minutes in and it couldn't make me crack a smile, let alone crack up with laughter. Just don't waste your time with it. This is not a comedy, it's the tragedy of acting.

Since I haven't read that Austen book, I can't comment on how closely related is to the source material. But I will say aside from the usual conflicts that you'd expect from a Hallmarkesque movie. It is a whole convoluted mess, but an enjoyable, laughable convoluted mess.

The characters themselves definitely represent the current masses due to modern resources. But that doesn't distract from the undertones of how social media can shape and form our lives, as well as how family can be such an influence on your own views as a individual.

Wren, the heroine of the movie was definitely on the merry-go-round of life circling three men, having a connection with all three of them.

But who to choose?

The ex, the newbie, or the set-up?

Definitely give it a shot but while I say this, it doesn't mean this is a masterpiece. It's not but it is quite funny at times.

I love Jane Austen, as in read the books, seen the movies, and so on. As much as I wanted to like this, there was no flow to it, this film seemed to stumble along rather than flow. I am not sure that the Owen character was miscast as I felt zero connection with him as a human being, and even less between him and other characters. This could have been beautifully sad, funny and uplifting, but it is not. That makes me sad. If you want to honor Jane Austen's writing and a particular book, please do it with more life and more joy than this. I would say, if you love Jane Austen, watch it, but know that it is not what you are hoping for.

What a disappointment. Had high hopes especially with Alicia Witt and Bebe Neuwirth.

But though based on the Austen novel, this movie lacks the integrity, intelligence and charm of Austen. Also worth noting that Persuasion is more serious than Austen's other work.

In its modern interpretation, the movie essentially celebrates consumerism, lack of ethics at work, rampant EEO violations at work, work conflict of interest, snarky objectification etc. Basically the Sex and the City version of Austen.

But even as a standard rom-com without the Austen reference, the whiny characters result in a charmless movie.