Stand aside, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Malcolm is coming. The creators of this film were clearly inspired by the work of the writer Jane Austen, or rather the story of her two heroes, full of pride and prejudice, which is why the novel received such a name. However, the director Emma Holly Jones clearly goes “in step with the times”, because of this, her creation does not feel the atmosphere of the era (it is not enough to wear the appropriate costumes), and when watching the film you are convinced that what is happening on the screen is more a parody of the novels of a famous Englishwoman than her imitation.
England, 1818. Selina and Julia are raised together in a women's boarding house and, with nothing to do, on warm, idle evenings promise to help each other in finding suitors. Time goes by inexorably, and enviable suitors do not appear. Selina, the daughter of an impoverished rural vicar, is convinced that you need to marry only for love and once again refuses the local old man - as rich as he is arrogant. The girl is brought up in firm and noble morals, always helps those in need and never refuses. Therefore, Julia, now living in London, decides to use an old friend in an act of revenge.
Mr. Malcolm is an enviable groom with 20,000 annual income. All girls and women just dream of having such a husband. Jeremy himself does not mind getting married (why he comes to London), only he knows about the selfish interest of his companions, which is why he develops a list of qualities that his future wife should possess - after all, he spends a whole life side by side with her! So, the bride should: be cheerful, intelligent and charming, have good manners and decent relatives, constantly engage in self-education and charity, be able to maintain a conversation, be altruistic, sincere, truthful and unsophisticated, kind and balanced, indulgent. And the girl must have musical or artistic talent. Is it surprising that the groom is still unable to find a suitable life partner? Time after time, he invites candidates to the opera, to the ball, to the music salon, to the art gallery, to a walk in the park – but only one meeting is enough, and Malcolm realizes that he was wrong. And when his next choice falls on Julia, she also quickly disappoints him. But Miss Tisleway is a brisk and assertive nature, she cannot accept the loss and forgive the unfortunate groom her shame to which she has been subjected in society. And that stupid list! Then she remembers her friend and suggests that, knowing about the list, first fall in love with Mr. Malcolm, and then show him his list, putting him in an unsightly light. Only in the case as always intervenes real love, and in fact Selina Dalton has all the qualities from the list.
The plot is easy and quite simple, which makes each subsequent course of its development quite predictable. On the other hand, it allows you to relax, not particularly loaded when watching. In addition, there are a lot of ironic moments, and funny secondary characters. Take, for example, John’s footman of Indian appearance and Molly’s maid, who carefully observe what is happening and make comments, while sparking their own connection. Oliver Jackson-Cohen plays the carefree and slightly crazy cousin Lord Cassidy, who constantly experiences a serious fear of horses and mispronounces the names of Greek philosophers. Annealed actress Ashley Park – in the role of bright socialite Miss Gerty Covington, she appears in only a few, but memorable episodes. She behaves defiantly, has a reputation for cocky and crazy, and does not hide that she was married twice and is looking for a third round.
Heroes often behave in a modern way, so here you will not feel any manners, morals, or even the spirit of the era (compare for example with the same screen adaptations of Jane Austen of the 90s of the last century). What can we say about the actors, who gathered here a whole international. So, the main character is an enviable aristocrat Mr. Jeremy Malcolm, of course - of African appearance; Selina is played by the famous Indian actress Frida Pinto – the same star of “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008); Julia’s friend – Ethiopian appearance Zavi Ashton; and her mother Mrs. Tisleway – is played by Japanese actress Naoko Mori. What can we say about the reliability of the era - for a long time everything is ruled by the notorious political correctness. Already to the work of D. Austen got – of course, I mean the latest film adaptation of “Arguments of Reason” (2022) performed by Carrie Cracknell. Otherwise, the romantic melodrama looks good and allows you to have a good time. It is a pity, of course, that the novel of the same name by American writer Suzanne Ellane has not yet been translated into Russian (in Polish and Estonian it is already present). By the way, in the book all the heroes are European appearance.
Some interesting points:
- The film was shot in Ireland in March 2021.
- As a prototype of the estate of Mr. Malcolm made a famous castle in Dublin.
- Sam Heughan was originally invited to one of the roles, but the actor was forced to withdraw from the project due to his busy schedule.
- The film became a remake of the short film of the same name in 2019, in the creation of which almost all the same actors and crew took part earlier.
8 out of 10