It wasn't that I expected a historically accurate film. Enough time has gone by since its release that just about everything that could have been said on that score, already has been.
No, it was the two-dimensional feel of all the characters that disappointed, as though they didn't quite believe in themselves or this story, and they seemed almost ghostly by comparison with the wonderful characters in Jane's novels. I expected much more from a BBC movie.
The scene was beautifully set and very accurately depicted, and could scarcely be faulted but because the plot was so thin and the characters so unconvincing my attention kept wandering. I even dozed off for a moment or two at one point. I was glad I was watching a DVD as I had to backtrack a couple of times.
If you like historical froth this movie is OK but I honestly think Jane Austen would have disapproved of it, and not because of its content concerning her brief involvement with Tom Lefroy but simply because she would not have recognised herself.
No, it was the two-dimensional feel of all the characters that disappointed, as though they didn't quite believe in themselves or this story, and they seemed almost ghostly by comparison with the wonderful characters in Jane's novels. I expected much more from a BBC movie.
The scene was beautifully set and very accurately depicted, and could scarcely be faulted but because the plot was so thin and the characters so unconvincing my attention kept wandering. I even dozed off for a moment or two at one point. I was glad I was watching a DVD as I had to backtrack a couple of times.
If you like historical froth this movie is OK but I honestly think Jane Austen would have disapproved of it, and not because of its content concerning her brief involvement with Tom Lefroy but simply because she would not have recognised herself.