Northanger Abbey (Felicity Jones)

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It was over ten years since we watched the ITV adaptation of ‘Northanger Abbey’, and my husband had almost entirely forgotten the story. I have read the book several times, and while the last time I read it was more than twenty years ago, it’s a fairly straightforward story and I always liked it. So I knew what was coming.

Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) is the heroine. As the book explains, nobody would have guessed that she was destined to be a romantic heroine in her rather prosaic childhood, with a large number of siblings. We see her helping in the house, playing with her younger brothers and sisters, and also reading novels. Her mother (Julia Dearden) does not approve of her imagination but her father thinks that reading is a harmless way of occupying her leisure time.

Felicity Jones is perfect in this role. Catherine is naive, trusting, ready to fall in love… and also inclined to imagine terrible things. She is invited on a visit to Bath with her parents’ friends Mr and Mrs Allen, who take her to balls and other events in society. She is rather lonely at first, but gradually makes friends, including the amusing and chivalrous Henry Tilney (JJ Feild). He is very nice but does not seem to be a gothic romantic hero.

Catherine also makes friends with the frivolous, materialistic Isabella (Carey Mulligan) who knows and claims to be in love with Catherine’s brother James. Isabella’s brother John (William Beck) is convinced that Catherine will inherit a fortune from Mr Allen, and is determined to pursue her.

Catherine is invited to stay at his family home, Northanger Abbey itself, invited by Henry’s rather dour father. Unfortunately he also thinks Catherine is an heiress. Meanwhile Catherine grows increasingly suspicious about the circumstances surrounding Henry’s mother’s death….

‘Northanger Abbey’ is a spoof on some of the ‘gothic’ novels of the era, which Catherine loves to read, and which Henry also likes, although he sees them for the ridiculous exaggeration they were intended to be. We see her flights of imagination briefly, often as dreams or as daydreams while she is reading, but they’re short episodes and she quickly returns to reality. The contrast is very well done, and there’s a lightness and warmth about the film that fits well with my memory of the book.

We both liked seeing this again very much. My husband did recall some of the scenes as we watched, but had not remembered the storyline nor the eventual outcome. I had forgotten many of the details, and thoroughly enjoyed some of the ironical conversation and gentle satire. Inevitably a film is not the same as a book, but I thought that this one was mostly true to Austen’s original.

It’s rated PG, which is about right as there’s no violence, only mild suspense (in Catherine’s imagination), and just minor bad language. There’s a scene showing a young woman who has been ‘taken advantage of’ in a way that is only touched upon in the book, but it would probably go over the heads of young children. I can’t imagine that anyone under the age of about thirteen or fourteen would find this interesting anyway.

Definitely recommended to anyone who likes period drama, or who would like to see good adaptations of Jane Austen’s classic novels.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews