Northanger Abbey

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steve d Fantastic version with a great cast. The best adaptation yet. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review matthew d Jane Austen's sweetest and simplest story brought to life! Director Jon Jones' period romance drama Northanger Abbey (2007) deftly adapts author Jane Austen's classic novel of the same name. I appreciate how Jones condenses the novel into a tight and straightforward 93 minutes. Jones' direction leans into the quiet and pleasant romantic moments in a relationship with similar interests and supportive conversations and playful teasing. Northanger Abbey is very sweet. Andrew Davies adapts Jane Austen with a swift hand and clear understanding of Catherine's intentions, worries, and desires. I was aware of the narrative developing between the two gentlemen pining for the same lady's favor immediately and you can figure out where the family ties are going quickly. Having figured out Austen's story, I could just appreciate the fine and touching acting from this excellent ensemble. The cute moments between Catherine and Henry feel genuine and natural like they were meant to be from the beginning. Felicity Jones is absolutely charming and effortlessly ethereal as the young lady Catherine Morland. She's immediately one of my favorite Austen heroines with her love of reading, pleasant social manners, active imagination, and clear desire for a man who treats her kindly. I adore Felicity Jones with her posh elegance with a worldly charm, soft pale visage, bright blue eyes that have a wondrous innocence and curiosity. Her eager and playful personality lends to Catherine's charm and likable warmth. I felt empathy for Catherine's sudden thrust into society with her socially awkward attending of a ball at Bath to the sudden affections of several men surrounding her. Felicity Jones is an incredibly versatile actress playing into Catherine's worries over Henry possibly being mad at her to her brother's happiness in his unfortunate pairing with Carey Mulligan's disloyal and frivolous Isabella Thorpe. Carey Mulligan is fantastic as the foolish manipulator and false friend Isabella Thorpe. Mulligan effortlessly plays Isabella with a fun whimsy and loathsome forcefulness as she pushes her ugly and obnoxious brother John Thorpe, played by an aptly horrid William Beck, on poor Catherine Morland. Mulligan's character also feels sorrowful when Isabella's used in the same manner by Mark Dymond's lecherously shallow Captain Frederick Thorpe. Dymond feels snobbish, dismissive, cruel, manipulative, and charmless immediately. I just knew he was a cad. JJ Feild is very handsome and lovable as the nice, patient gentleman Henry Tilney. He feels right for Catherine immediately as he's friendly, treats her kindly, he's funny, knows his novels, knows his fabrics, gets her a parfait, and takes her to his home Northanger Abbey that's basically a castle. JJ Feild is clearly perfectly cast as Henry Tilney. He looks remarkably like Lee Pace. Geraldine James provides pleasant narration as the voice of Jane Austen. Sylvestra Le Touzel is friendly as Mrs. Allen and Desmond Barrit is fun with his complaints as the generous Mr. Allen. Catherine Walker is so sweet as Eleanor Tilney with her immediately warm friendship and kindness towards Felicity Jones' Catherine Morland. Liam Cunningham is a complete jerk as General Tilney with his blunt dialogue and cruel dismissal of Catherine. He plays Tilney's greedy and callous nature well, while also hinting at his inner pain over the loss of his wife. Editor Sue Wyatt keeps cutting smoothly for a brisk pace. I like all the close-up shots from cinematographer Ciarán Tanham. Seeing Felicity's reactions in her expressive face and eyes really helped me know and understand Catherine's feelings fastly. David Wilson's production design creates Northanger Abbey as a massive estate, near castle-like in appearance. Catherine's cottage home is very cute and warm. The ballroom in Bath is very lavish. Mark Lowry's art direction leans into the greenery of nature and the cold sparse homes of the wealthy by comparison. Composer Charlie Mole creates a romantic mood that can go from gentle to suspenseful in a moment. Costume designers Grania Preston and Susan O'Connor Cave created lovely yellow and gold dresses for Carey Mulligan with little frills, flowing gowns, and more open cleavage to show off Isabella's flirty personality. I adore the blue and white gowns and dresses for Felicity Jones with a simple elegance for Jones' graceful personality that suits Catherine nicely. Muriel Bell and Martina Byrne give Felicity and Carey the cute haircuts with curls and shorter hair with cute blush for their make-up. In all, I loved this version of Northanger Abbey. I'd easily recommend it to someone new to Jane Austen's material. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review farah r An enjoyable Jane Austen adaptation that captures the essence of the novel but doesn't go the extra mile. The movie feels rushed and doesn't fully realize the story to its full potential. If Northanger Abbey works at all it's primarily thanks to its charming cast. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member An enjoyable adaptation of a lesser know Austen work. There was a fashionable 'gothic' trend of books in the late 18th and early 19th century; this was Austen's contribution to that fashion, albeit tongue in cheek. A lovely easy to watch film that doesn't have the refined storyline of the likes of Pride and Prejudice, but is highly entertaining. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Good, childish fun but nothing to write home about. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Frances H Charming adaption of Jane Austen's satirical sendup of the newly fashionable Gothic novels of her day. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/03/18 Full Review Read all reviews

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