Northanger Abbey (Felicity Jones)

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 very 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

Wonder (Jacob Tremblay)

Sometimes, when I add something to my wishlist after an Amazon recommendation, it turns out to be a good choice. Sometimes acceptable, sometimes very good. And just occasionally we find a film that is outstanding. Based on a novel (which I had not heard of) ‘Wonder’ comes in the last category. It’s one of the best films we have seen for a long time.

I expect the film was recommended to me because I have given good ratings to other films with Julia Roberts in it. But it’s not Julia Roberts who stars in this. She plays an excellent supporting role as a mother of a child with severe facial disfigurement. But the child himself, Augie is the star of this wonderful story. Played by the young Canadian actor Jacob Tremblay, Augie is a ten-year-old boy who was born with a severe genetic condition.

Over the years, we learn, Augie has been in hospital many times undergoing different surgeries. His sight and hearing have been restored, and a great deal of plastic surgery means that his face, while unusual, is not unpleasant or difficult to look at. He has been homeschooled so far, but his parents feel that he should go to ‘Middle School’ for fifth grade.

Augie finds his face embarrassing and usually goes about wearing a space helmet. But the school principal and staff do all they can to help him adjust. He is very bright, particularly gifted in science. But one boy in his year verbally bullies him, and at first Augie is either ignored or shunned. He finds his first few days miserable, but gradually children get to know the real person inside. He’s kind, helpful, and has a great sense of humour…

There are other stories in this film too. The second part of the film features Augie’s older sister Via (Izabela Vidovik). She’s a likeable girl who has evidently felt neglected, sometimes unloved, as her parents focus all their attention on her brother. She knows it’s not his fault, and she understands. She just wishes she could talk to her parents and spend time with them. Then her best friend stops speaking to her too, and life looks grim until she’s invited to the school drama club…

It’s a film about the importance of looking beyond appearance, about honesty and friendship, and about unconditional love. There are some very poignant moments as well as some amusing scenes; the pace is excellent and we found ourselves engrossed in the story, barely noticing Augie’s different appearance after the first few scenes. And towards the end I found myself moved to tears in an emotive conclusion to the film.

The acting is excellent; Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson make believable parents, and some of the most amusing exchanges are between Augie and his dad. The school staff, particularly the head and Augie’s form teacher, are entirely believable, and the classmates too in their reactions and behaviour.

The rating is PG, which seems about right to me. There are a couple of quite intense scenes with some fighting, although it’s fairly tame and nobody is seriously injured. There’s no ‘strong’ language, and no scenes of intimacy, though there are some childish slang terms and some kissing.

We were slightly disappointed that there was no 'extra' documentary about the making of the film; there was just one brief one about the music (something which was good, but we barely noticed it). However there are some short YouTube films available explaining - for instance - how Jacob Tremblay was made up each day to look like Augie.

All in all, we loved this film and would recommend it highly to anyone, including children of about eight or nine and upwards.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews