Mr. Malcolm's List

How this movie has an average of 5.3 but the disgracefully botched 2022 version of Persuasion, a 5.6, is beyond me. Yes, Mr. Malcolm's List is Austen-esque and predictable, but at least the script captured the zeitgeist of the early 1800s. Its preview (which is on YouTube) actually came out early 2019, so I'm guessing Bridgerton took a leaf out of their book in regard to a diverse cast.

The two leads don't have much chemistry but the cast in general is excellent. I particularly enjoyed Oliver Jackson-Cohen's Lord Cassidy and although Julia Thistlewaite's character is downright unpleasant, Zawe Ashton embodied her brilliantly. I'm glad she replaced Gemma Chan, whose performance in the preview I thought a bit spiritless.

All in all, not an arthouse film experience but definitely worth the watch if you're into period pieces. I watched it for the second time today and didn't enjoy it any less than I did the first time.

Just watched this movie; it did not live up to the hype. While the costuming, sets and cinematography were really good, the plot was so derivitive, predictable and unimaginative it angered me after viewing.

One of the classifications on this film is "comedy." I'll admit the septuagenarian exchange made me laugh out loud, but there were few example of wit in this film.

Bring Georgette Heyer to cinema life, for crying out loud. Her depth of knowledge -- from Regency mannerisms, phrasing, street and sect cant, from glitz to gutter, was due to investigation and extensive research. Also, her knowledge of the social and global conditions during the Regency period were woven into her pieces with great effect.

Ms. Heyer's writing is elegant, thoughtful, and her between-character dialogue/repartee is incomparable, whether in a London drawing room, a Bath water house, a backstreet brothel or on the battlefields of Waterloo. Her characters are fully-drawn and replete.

Developers: Please provide substantive content if venturing into Regency.

I have changed my original rating of 6 to 5, I hate to down grade films with a diverse cast, but surely there are important, authentic, diverse stories that should be told, based on literature and history of the non-Western world. I absolutely hate this type of story, trying to rewrite history, when it wasn't true.

Please make films that are not based on White people's experience but reflects the nobility of African/Asian experiences because there are those stories, this is really lazy.

The new thing of re-doing English period pieces with woke casting is a waste of opportunity and resources. These type of films are so fake.

Among other things, Zawe Ashton character is mostly unpleasant, interesting that the Black girl is the mean one. Even when they try to be diverse, they still have racial troupe's about Black women...very interesting.

'' Mr. Malcolm's List '' is a period romantic drama.

The movie has a fun story, based on a novel with the same title, and the whole story brings in mind Jane Austen vibes.

In addition, the characters were fun and feisty and their chemistry was strong and enjoyable. The performances by every actor and actress in the cast, which were all enjoyable, aided to the success of the movie.

And yes the casting is unrealistic for a period drama, but, as the performances were strong and the settings and costumes spot on, so it can be easily overlooked.

Finally, the movie did a good job presenting the story.

Novelists who adapt their own work to the screen sometimes run the risk of being unable to "kill their babies." Fortunately, Ms. Alain's had no such qualms. Her screenplay is a delight. Director Emma Holly Jones maintains the scope and literary scale of the novel, as well as the wit, charm, and romance expected of Regency-era productions. Taking a cue from the wildly successful Bridgerton series, casting is inclusive and revelatory. Who isn't thrilled to see the lovely Ms Pinto in Austeneseque attire and a plot rife with scheming intrigue? Twenty-first century novelists are enriching a beloved genre with new stories. Here's to the women behind the camera and the women behind the pen.