On A Clear Day

Frank and Joan are a long married couple, but like any couple they have secrets from each other. Marred by the scars of their long dead son’s tragic death Frank & Joan are trying to make ends meet and keep a relationship with their surviving son Rob; however, when Frank looses his job building the ships for England’s Navy he feels even more adrift than he did before and his separation from Rob is even more pronounced. Then Frank finds a new goal – he decides to swim the English Channel. With the help of his former co-workers Frank sets out to train and regain a bit of the self-worth that he began to loose when he lost his son.

Going into On A Clear Day I expected to find a quirky comedy; instead I found a dramatic character piece but I was not disappointed. Frank is a man who has always tried to provide for his family and when he lost his son he didn’t know how to deal, shutting out Rob his remaining son, and throwing everything into providing for his family through work. When that is taken away from him as well Frank realizes that he’s no longer connected to his wife or Rob; when his friends enable him to start training to swim the channel it’s clear that Frank wants to reconnect with his family but has no idea how and in the end they find a way to reconnect with him.

This film is definitely a cousin of kitchen sink realism, but with a decidedly more upbeat attitude. On A Clear Day displays an England that still has good, hard-working people but a people that are fighting for normalcy, work and to matter. It’s a people and a country that still wraps their national self-worth in their jobs and Queen. This isn’t much different from the American view point, but sometimes you need a little distance to gain perspective.

On A Clear Day has a fantastic family message that can be appreciated by anyone looking for a more meaningful way to spend two hours.

Director: Gabby Dellal
Writer: Alex Rose
Frank: Peter Mullan
Joan: Brenda Blethyn
Rob: Jamie Sives
Danny: Billy Boyd

Frank: Things aren't meant to be fixed now a days. Not by you any way.

Pride & Prejudice (BBC)

pride & prejudice-020
Originally uploaded by kapvera

I know that this is not really a movie either, it’s a mini-series, but I never saw it on tv – in fact, the first time I saw Pride & Prejudice was on VHS and I checked it out from the library. Yeah, that sounds so old and gives me fond memories of high school. The reason I am including this mini-series here is that prior to the recent Joe Wright version of Pride & Prejudice the mini-series was the definitive version.

This mini-series is about six hours long and I never thought another adaptation of the book could be made that could top this version. What the BBC mini-series has that no other filmic version does is save for the books epilogue the entire story is in the mini-series. To the best of my knowledge no film version of Pride & Prejudice has been able to include everything in the novel.

However, after seeing the newest version I do have to say that I like the cast in the Joe Wright version just a little bit more. Both casts are excellent, but the BBC version uses actors that are pretty obviously not the same age as the characters, and what bothers me most is that they are semi-close to the age but obviously skew older. This stands out to me most in the character of Lizzie who is supposed to be about 20 through most of the tale and very obviously looks to be at least in her mid-twenties.

What I find most interesting though is the differences in the characters between the two versions; I think it is a perfect example of how a different director/writer can totally change the feel of something. This is most obvious through Mr. & Mrs. Bennet (played by Benjamin Whitrow & Alison Steadman in the BBC, and Donald Sutherland & Brenda Blethyn in the Wright version). In the BBC version the parents are shrill, aggravating and seem to dislike each other intensely, and very rarely seem to get along with or really care for their daughters and Mrs. Bennet seems to only want to get her daughters married to get money; in the Wright version Mr. Bennet is calm and caring, showing affection for all of his daughters and even his wife, and Mrs. Bennet’s obsession for getting her daughters married obviously seems to stem from wanting them to be taken care of.

Both versions are very good, and I highly recommend watching both if you’re interested in seeing the differences in how the same story can be adapted. However, I do have to say that if push comes to shove I would chose the Joe Wright version over the BBC version simply because of the choices that were made in putting that film together to make it a beautiful whole.

Director: Simon Langton
Writer: Andrew Davies
Lizzie: Jennifer Ehle
Mr. Darcy: Colin Firth
Jane: Susannah Harker
Lydia: Julia Sawalha
Mrs. Bennet: Alison Steadman
Mr. Bennet: Benjamin Whitrow
Mr. Bingley: Crispin Bonham-Carter
Kitty: Polly Maberly
Mary: Lucy Briers
Miss Bingley: Anna Chancellor
Mrs. Hurst: Lucy Robinson
Whickham: Adrian Lukis
Mr. Collins: David Bamber
Charlotte: Lucy Scott

Elizabeth Bennet: Lady Catherine, in marrying your nephew, I should not consider myself as quitting that sphere. He is a gentleman, I am a gentleman's daughter. So far we are equal.

Pride & Prejudice

Pride & Prejudice
Originally uploaded by ala9489

The first time I heard they were making a feature length version of Pride & Prejudice I was mystified; the book is one of my favorites and after seeing the BBC mini series based on the book I really didn’t see how a feature length version could be made that would rival the BBC version and stay true to the book – it’s a really complex book. Of course, as I loved the book I was hopeful.

I adore this version of Pride & Prejudice. I think that it was brilliantly cast, visually stunning and kept the right amount of imformation in the book and changed certain things in a way that still kept them true to the book but made them work better for a two hour movie. This was an insane challenge for a writer and a director and I think that both mastered it and were able to create a wonderful adaptation.

Pride & Prejudice focuses on Lizzie Bennet and her family in the 19th century. They are a proper British family living in the countryside and are unfortunately burdened by having five daughters and no sons. As such the family is focused on one thing – getting the daughters married and hopefully married well. The two eldest daughters Jane & Lizze fall into the path of a new neighbor Mr. Bingley and his friend Mr. Darcy and their lives are changed forever. Bingley and Jane fall in love but are forced apart by his friends and family who believe her inferior and Darcy falls in love with Lizzie who does not return his affections. This story is classic and one of the romance films I actually enjoy shockingly enough – probably because it is populated with genuine characters that are fully developed.

I cannot review this film without giving props to Joe Wright. I had never heard of him before this film but will undoubtedly try to see his movies more. This film is beautiful visually and as I have already stated spot on in its translation, acting and every other element. This film is so well put together that you forget that it is put together at all – you don’t think about the editing, the score the acting, the costumes, and that is the goal of making a good movie.

Director: Joe Wright
Writer: Deborah Moggach
Lizzie: Kiera Knightly
Jane: Rosamund Pike
Mary: Talulah Riley
Lydia: Jena Malone
Kitty: Carey Mulligan
Mr. Bennet: Donald Sutherland
Mrs. Bennet: Brenda Blethyn
Charlotte Lucas: Claudie Blakley
Mr. Bingley: Simon Woods
Caroline Bingley: Kelly Reilly
Mr. Darcy: Matthew Macfadyen
Mr. Wickham: Rupert Friend
Mr. Collins: Tom Hollander
Lady Catherine de bourg: Judi Dench

Elizabeth Bennet: And that put paid to it. I wonder who first discovered the power of poetry in driving away love?
Mr. Darcy: I thought that poetry was the food of love.
Elizabeth Bennet: Of a fine stout love, it may. But if it is only a vague inclination I'm convinced one poor sonnet will kill it stone dead
Mr. Darcy: So what do you recommend to encourage affection?
Elizabeth Bennet: Dancing. Even if one's partner is barely tolerable