Squid Flicks: Northanger Abbey

Title: Northanger Abbey

Director: Jon Jones

Original Release: March 25, 2007

My Overall Rating: 3 stars out of 5

via Wikipedia

Costume dramas are a big deal at our house.  My wife and child both love them, especially Jane Austen adaptations.  Northanger Abbey has been one of their favorites for years and until this past weekend, I'd never watched it with them.  They usually watch when I'm out playing board games or in the other room watching sports.  This time, I decided to stick around.

Catherine Morland is our heroine.  She's the typical Austen protagonist: smart, bored, pretty.  The adventure starts rolling when she's invited to Bath with family friends.  She falls in love with Henry Tilney, an aristocrat, though a second son to a wealthy man so not in line for a big inheritance.  He is kind and welcoming to Catherine and exhibits a fine sense of humor.  Will the two weather Catherine's social faux pas and the meddling of others to find their way with one another?

The story plays out much as one would expect from an Austen story.  However, Northanger Abbey is an unusual Austen novel for its satirical elements.  Gothic literature was alive and well in the early 19th century (the book was published in 1817).  Lord Byron is mentioned directly in the text.  Those more literarily knowledgeable than I would probably catch other Gothic author names, too.  Catherine also has elaborately dramatic dreams which play on Gothic tropes.  The protagonist confusing reality with her own novel-fueled fantasies is a major narrative driver throughout.

The 2007 film is one of a Jane Austen trilogy produced for ITV (UK) and PBS (USA).  I'd say it's typical Masterpiece Theater quality: great sets and costumes, on-location filming, decent writing and acting.  Not spectacular but fun.  Felicity Jones (Catherine) reminded me a bit of Molly Ringwald, which lead me to consider how many of the John Hughes and adjacent teen comedies of the 1980s followed Jane Austen tropes.  My wife describes JJ Fields (Henry) as a poor man's Lee Pace.  Both of the lead actors are fine - not spectacular but fine.