British Actress Blog

Northanger Abbey (2007)

Score: 6/10

Director: Jon Jones

Stars: Felicity Jones, William Beck, Geraldine James, Michael Judd, Julia Dearden.

Northanger Abbey

Felicity Jones

Synopsis: A young lady’s passion for sensational Gothic novels leads to her misunderstandings matters of the heart.

Review: A young woman with a very vivid imagination named Catherine Morland ( Felicity Jones ) is given the opportunity to stay with the Allen family. This is her chance to meet new people and possibly find a partner to marry. For Catherine, She sees this as a time of unrealistic fantasy and adventure straight out of the novels she has been reading. Unfortunately she does not know when fantasy ends and reality begins.

Catherine Morland

Felicity Jones

Felicity Jones really does shine in these movies that focus on the old world of England. I am very glad that this is the kind of film that shows this British actress in full range rather than a movie that takes big name actresses and places them in forgettable roles instead of making use of the actress’s talents. I’m looking at you Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016). I appreciate that the creators of this film used Felicity Jones, her being a real English actress rather than giving us a person who is not from England and having them fake a British accent like the films Atomic Blonde (2017) and Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) where Charlize Theron does a semi, somewhat passable, and sometimes insulting “attempt” at an English voice (I’m a big and Charlize Theron fan by the way).

Catherine Morland

and her friend

We have another Jane Austin film that heavily focuses on monetary gains and stability through marriage. Like another Jane Austin film, Love & Friendship (2016) with Kate Beckinsale, the main female characters hyper focus on marring for money and then consider love secondary. This focus within the Jane Austin stories is repetitive and highly predictable. These films and stories are also very iconic because they seem to freeze a story in time which allows us to see into the mind of the people of that time period.

Well Done

Felicity Jones

The cinematography is well done. The look and color of the movie feels old. These kinds of films with their dated but clear look, makes a person feel as though they are looking back in time. The wardrobe and set dressing are very good. The color is intentionally washed out for an old world and stylistic effect. I find this interesting since movies like Voice from the Stone (2017) uses perfect color in their film while keeping the old world feel to the movie. I do like the use of organic backgrounds in this movie. This is more of a quite yet classy film. I think people who are looking specifically for these kinds of films will watch this, other people will not, Jane Austin is too much of a niche. I would say watch this movie if you’re bored but I really think it will make your boredom worse. This average film is for fans of Jane Austin and Felicity Jones.

More Felicity Jones Movies

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Chéri (2009)

Inferno (2016)

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