Because I spent the last year living in Bath, England and because "Sense and Sensibility" is one of my favorite films, a friend of mine recommended that I watch the Masterpiece Theatre's production of "Northanger Abbey". I don't normally review TV films and the production values did throw me for a little bit, but I was pleasantly surprised to watch a well-acted (if slightly underwhelming) version of Jane Austen's gothic romance novel.
Full of ghosts, vampires and mysterious men, our story follows Catherine Morland, a young, bookish girl who is invited to Bath for seemingly no other purpose than to rub elbows and flirt with strangers. Growing up in a family without money or name, Catherine's time in Bath becomes something of an awakening for her, where all of the romance novels she pours herself into seem to materialize around her.
She is immediately taken in by two circles of people: Isabella (played by the always lovely Carey Mulligan) becomes her closest friend and confidant, with her brother, James, who doesn't seem to take a hint. Catherine also meets the Tilney's, Henry and Eleanor, who are suave, genteel and possibly not at all what they seem.
Austen's story is of this young girl and how her eyes are opened to the fact that love is not all that her books make it out to be, and that politics plays a much larger part in marriage. Bath is the hideaway for rich, London folk, and in Bath having a good time walks hand in hand with being cunning. All of this is encapsulated with a holiday to Northanger Abbey, home of the Tilney's, where she finds that even though her overactive imagination may get the better of her, there are indeed monsters walking among us.
There isn't anything new or particularly interesting to be gained from this film. It seemed more to me to be a play set off of a stage, but Felicity Jones as Catherine and JJ Field as Henry give strong performances and the story is interesting enough to keep one watching.
That said, the story could have done with making Catherine's fantasies more dreamlike and ethereal; there was very little done to make the audience believe that this girl is absolutely enamored with her stories and that her hopelessly romantic heart is susceptible to flights of fancy. Also, it was painfully clear that this movie was not filmed in Bath. After doing some research I learned it was all shot in Ireland, and that's fine, but Bath has such a unique look that the filmmakers decided to disguise the fact that it was shot elsewhere by never using establishing shots to set locations. Because of this, the film felt clipped and rather claustrophobic. All of the shots in Bath Centre were filmed in one general location which became very noticeable after a time. It's a recognizable town, and if it was primarily made for a British audience I'm sure I would not be only one to notice.
Crimes of the heart are the worst, Henry tells Catherine. That's a lie, but an endearing one. This is not one of the most interesting Austen adaptations, nor is it a very engrossing film, but it's nice to watch if you have nothing better to do, and perhaps it will lead to you having your own flight of fancy with a dashing man full of secrets.
2/4
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