Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A Twist on Pride and Prejudice: Lost in Austen



One of my favorite movies of all time is the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. That being said I am a bit of a critic when it comes to other versions. For instance the 2005 version directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley was absolutely terrible in my opinion.
Well let me clarify…the filming was beautiful and I cannot complain about the dialogue, it was more specifically the casting of Keira Knightley. She failed to capture and portray Elizabeth Bennet completely, thus ruining what could have been a fantastic re-creation of a classic. On a side note, I did however enjoy Donald Sutherland as her father and most everything else about the film was fabulous. It just proves how casting can make or break a film.
All of this to say that last night I watched a fantastic "version" of Pride and Prejudice, called Lost in Austen (2008). Like my favorite version of Pride and Prejudice, it is a BBC TV mini-series.
It first takes to extreme the concept that every Pride and Prejudice fan can be “submerged” in the story…only in this instance, it is quite literally. It secondly and more importantly holds firmly to the feel of the legacy that is the classic love story and yet contains an obvious modernism, with the addition of a modern day character; enter our heroine, Amanda Price.
It was a treat to get to see more from each and every character than I had ever seen before and it was believable…if not unexpected and sometimes outrageous but yet certainly how things could have turned out if all the stars hadn’t aligned, or perhaps aligned in a slightly different pattern.
So if you are looking for more from you favorite book and movie, look no further than Lost in Austen. It is currently on Netflix for instant streaming.



Side-note:
I would give Lost in Austen a rating of PG-13 and 5 stars and also state that it is not for a conservative person.

2 comments:

  1. I own this BBC version, a collector's edition with a book and second disc and everything. That being said - it's not technically ME who owns it, as I couldn't care less. It's my roomie's.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well your roomie has excellent taste...tell her about Lost in Austen, she might enjoy it being that I did?

    ReplyDelete