Northanger Abbey
Synopsis: Young Catherine Morland, one of ten children, is pleasantly shocked when her neighbors, the Allens, invite her to vacation with them in Bath. Unaccustomed to urban society, Catherine is immediately awed by the sights and sounds of this bustling city. She befriends Isabella Thorpe and the two bond over their shared love of tawdry Gothic romance novels. Isabella's dopey frat boy older brother John pursues Catherine, but she is too busy pining for the far more charming Henry Tilney to notice. Though pressured by John, Isabella and her older brother James (who turns out to be Isabella's secret beau) to dismiss the friendly society of Henry and his sister Eleanor, Catherine agrees to visit the Tilneys at their ancient estate, Northanger Abbey. General Tilney, the stern patriarch, rules the spooky castle with the same tight grasp he holds over his children's lives. Catherine's imagination is stoked by the General, the Abbey and the mystery surrounding the late Mrs. Tilney's death, and she begins to imagine herself a character in one of her cherished horror novels.
Jon Jones's 2007 version of Northanger Abbey, featured as the second installment of PBS's "Masterpiece: The Complete Jane Austen", is another successful Jane adaptation that manages to get the tone just right. This is due in large part to Andrew Davies's screenplay. Davies, a veteran adaptor of classic texts, is responsible for numerous Jane-based screenplays, including the 1995 Pride and Prejudice mini-series and the P&P derived chick lit megahit Bridget Jones's Diary. This will surely stand amongst his best work. Northanger Abbey is Austen's silliest story, a playful satire of the sort of trashy gothic horror that she herself loved. This verson of that story is appropriately light and, at times, appropriately suspenseful and frightening. It's also about as sexed-up as Jane Austen story should be. Sex is always hanging around the periphery of every Austen tale - it is often the downfall of a caddish, would-be suitor or a wayward lady - and Davies manages to insert it into believable scenarios, like Catherine's dark fantasies and Isabella's eventual (and predictable) betrayal of James.
A large credit is also due to Felicity Jones, whose sprightly, wide-eyed Catherine is winning from start to finish. Catherine might be Austen's least remarkable heroine but Jones brings such a charming good nature to this character that she comes off as one of the most relatable. Her chemistry with JJ Field's Henry really carries the story and is beautifully sealed by an awkwardly hormonal and truly funny romantic climax. Fields is a suitable Henry and, despite his indie rock band bassist hair-do, manages to pull off flirty without being smarmy. As always, the jerky characters are my favorite to watch and William Beck's cro-magnon John Thorpe is exactly right. His half-assed marriage proposal to Catherine is the funniest scene in the film.
In principle, Giles Foster's 1986 version of Northanger Abbey has the same basic qualities as the more modern adaptation. A script that balances horror and humor? Check. Sexed up depictions of Catherine's morbid daydreams? Check. Now, imagine yourself, as a filmmaker, taking those elements and then dropping several hits of acid before going into casting and production. That's how you end up with this sort of Abbey.
I can't say that I enjoyed watching this, but I couldn't stop watching. The tone is very '80's avant garde, very Kate Bush video-esque. Katharine Schlensiger's Catherine is frankly hideous, which brings me to the single biggest problem with so many Austen adaptations- often, Brits be ugly. Many of these actors come from theater, and they've got the faces for it. They should stay on stage and leave the close-up shots for those less homely. It doesn't help Ms. Schlesinger's situation that she is surrounded by other ghouls, outfitted in garb straight out of Falco's "Rock Me Amadeus" video. Bonus points for eschewing the customary empire waistlines and curly tendril-ed up dos that are practically mandatory in Austen-based productions, but does it have to be so garish? The soundtrack sounds like porn. Peter Firth's Henry acts like he's in porn and maybe that isn't inherently bad except that you would never want to even imagine these people having sex. Sadly, this only other Abbey completely loses the allure of its source and falls far short of it's successor. Yet it distinguishes itself by being so freakin' weird.
Your local PBS affiliate will surely rerun Northanger Abbey in the coming weeks and it will be available on DVD January 22nd. Look for the 1986 Northanger Abbey at your public library, if you dare invest the time. You would be a fool to invest a single dollar.
3 comments:
I enjoyed your wit here, but I must protest! I would *SO* be in porn with Peter Firth.
Ha ha ha! Okay, point well taken. But, I still contend that Schlesinger brings enough ugly for the both of them.
Next stop: My Netflix queue. And then perhaps the porn store.
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