Jane Austen Month: Review: Austenland (2013)
Austenland is not openly a retelling of Pride and Prejudice (although it most clearly is), but instead it is supposed to be a love letter to Jane Austen. Except for the part where none of it really has much to do with Jane Austen herself at all.
The film opens with Jane as a teenager, then Jane as a university student and finally, as an adult. This is all to display her love for Jane Austen, but we never see or find out where this adoration actually begins. Additionally, Jane (played by Keri Russell) appears to age in reverse through the sequence. The way they dress her up as a teenager makes her look older than she is, which is not only unflattering but also quite distracting. Jane loves all of the works of Jane Austen, although her character only ever references Pride and Prejudice. She decides to go to a fictional holiday resort in England called Austenland, where there are actors set up to play gentlemen like those of Austen's era, for the pleasure of the paying female guests. Not in a prostitution way though. In fact, it is emphasised that the guests are not allowed to touch the actors at all. As it goes, what people know they can't have only makes them want it more, and particularly so in this film. When Jane arrives in Austenland, she and the other new female guests have to take on personas of ladies from the era. Can Jane keep up this facade? Will she enjoy living in her Austen fantasy, or will she find that some things aren't as she imagines them to be?
Right, that's enough of vague plot. Time for griping!
The editing in this film, at times, is hideous. There are several gags that backfire because of editing, and these most frequently involve the character Mr Nobley, who also had many scenes cut out of the film, but we will get to that in a bit. These gags include when Nobley trips over some luggage at an airport when trying to run after Jane, damaging his attempt to be the romantic hero. This should inspire a basic laugh, but the shot where he trips ends with him on the ground and it cuts instantly to a new shot of him standing. It doesn't make sense. Additionally, there is a scene with Nobley and the snobby guest Amelia, (played by Georgia King), in which Amelia trips and puts her hands on Nobley's shoulders to save herself and as Nobley accidentally ends up putting his hands on her breasts in attempt to catch her. In the next shot though, Amelia's hands are down by her sides, so it looks like Nobley has just randomly put his hands on her boobs. The remaining gags that aren't ruined by editing are ruined by the script. This is either due to a) the gags weren't funny to begin with, or b) the gag could have been okay, but other character's responses ruin it. For example, one of my favourite scenes in the film is as follows:
This is funny. The line is witty, not only because it delivers a harsh truth by the lovely Jennifer Coolidge as Lizzie Charming, but also because the character got it wrong by suggesting that Jane and Darcy were a couple instead Elizabeth and Darcy, which makes sense as she previously asked "What's that?" when Jane mentioned Pride and Prejudice earlier in the film. However, Jane ruins this by explaining that a gentleman of Austen's time would not have spoken to a lady like this. Why was this needed? It didn't add humour and it certainly didn't educate the audience on anything, unless the film thought that their joke from Lizzie wouldn't be understood by its audience, so Jane had to translate. I can't bear it when Chick Flicks think their audience is dumb, but then, I'm the one who keeps choosing to watch these films, so what does that make me?
The one scene in the film that really made me laugh out loud was when the three women partnered up with each of the three male actors to put on the play written by Austenland's owner, Mrs Wattlesbrook (played by Jane Seymour). This scene is hilarious, rarely because of the scripted lines but because of the editing (the above mentioned boob scene is awkwardly featured here) and particularly the actors. You have a couple of the main actors trying to do a good job, particularly James Callis as Colonel Andrews and Jennifer Coolidge as Lizzie, but then you have some very weak actors in the form of the all male audience members, who call out as the play goes on. The lines are said without conviction, as you do not believe these men would get invested in this play, which we as the audience are supposed to acknowledge is bad. My personal highlight in this scene is not a comedic touch, but a heartfelt one. Nobley is reciting his line of love to Jane in the play, and when he says "I love you", you can see very clearly see him realise that he is in love with Jane. On the subject on Nobley...
This film has one key redeeming feature which may make me consider watching it again in the future. That feature, my dear readers, is the presence of the lovely J.J. Feild as Mr Henry Nobley. To be honest, I probably do not care for the character as much as I care for the actor, (a point I will get to in time). What can I say? J.J. Feild is my type. Maybe that's inappropriate for me as a film critic to mention that, but... he's just so good.
He looks rather like Tom Hiddleston, but has the voice of an only very slightly higher pitched Alan Rickman. Before Austenland, Feild actually played one of Austen's leading men, Mr Henry Tilney in Northanger Abbey (which he is also wonderful in). This is similar to (granted, on a weaker level) how Colin Firth played Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones' Diary, perhaps the most famous modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice, just as he portrayed Darcy in the 1995 miniseries based on the book. Another random fun fact is that Rupert Vansittart who plays Mr Wattlesbrook in this film also played the minor role of Mr Hurst in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. The film knows how to make some Austen connections in that way at least.
Feild aside, Henry Nobley is the only voice of reason in this film, although this is usually presented with a dry wit or frustrated exclamation, both of which are enjoyable to watch. His character softens as the film progresses, but ultimately it's his views and not his personality that is altered by the end of the film. The opposite of this seems to happen more frequently than I initially realised in bad rom-coms, so Nobley is plesantly refreshing in that aspect. Unfortunately, many of this characters scenes alone with Jane were cut and it's hard to see why. Luckily these deleted clips are available on YouTube, yet I found watching them to be a frustrated experience because they highlighted several plot holes or underdeveloped moments in the main film that I previously hadn't noticed. In the film, there is a moment where Jane is pulling Nobley along by the hand, running with him. Nobley asks why they are running, to which Jane replies "Because a man and woman should never be left alone, unless they are in motion", which just seems like a really odd thing to say. However, in a deleted scene, Jane is reading facts about how people behaved in the Edwardian era to help prepare for her time in Austenland, as she is driven there with Lizzie. A fact she shares aloud is that which she stated to Nobley in the film. This earlier reference to it, maybe even in a shorter scene
Other scenes include Nobley flirtatiously embracing Jane as the rehearse for the play, Jane opening coloured pencils from Nobley delivered in a fabric case representative of the era as she loves art, and Nobley bringing Jane a mirror so that she can sketch herself for once instead of always observing others. Doesn't this make Nobley seem really sweet and thoughtful, someone who is clearly making an effort to form a romantic connection with Jane in a way that isn't false, unlike the rest of Austenland?
As previously stated, I really like Feild in this role. I just wish a couple of these clips weren't left on the cutting room floor so that I could have liked Nobley as a character just a bit more.
Pretty much my facial expression for the majority of this film.
To their credit, Feild isn't the only actor here doing a good job. Jane Seymour appears to be having a blast as Mrs Wattlesbrook, which makes her fun to watch. James Callis as Colonel Andrews is delightfully camp and his character's responses to Lizzie are funny. It helps that Lizzie is played by Jennifer Coolidge, who is as enjoyable as she always is. My problem with Colonel Andrews and Lizzie however, is their conclusion. When Jane says goodbye to Lizzie, she debates telling her that Colonel Andrews is gay but decides against it. This goes against the whole lesson Jane just learned: that it is not healthy to live in, nor to base your life, around a fantasy. Jane is supposed to be Lizzie's friend, and maybe I am reading into this too deeply as Lizzie is a comic relief part, but surely even the quirky side character should have something of a happy ending in terms of love? I actually find it a bit depressing that lovely, ditsy Lizzie is set out to live her life as a lie, unknown to her.
The other characters are mediocre. Georgia King as Amelia Heartwright is fine and she gets the odd laugh, but the others are mostly forgettable or occasionally embarrassing. Sadly, Keri Russell's character is literally a Plain Jane: a bland nothing. I think the main cause behind this is because we don't know what her drive to love Austen was really inspired by. Additionally, we know almost nothing about her life before she reaches Austenland. She has an office job, a somewhat sleazy ex or two, and a best friend. She likes to draw, but the art style in her sketch book suspiciously changes throughout. That is pretty much it. There is almost no characterisation there, which is particularly frustrating when this is the person whose journey you're choosing to follow for ninety-seven minutes of your time.
After Jane, the other character who annoyed me most was Martin, played by Bret McKenzie as Martin, the groundskeeper. McKenzie is one half of the musical duo Flight of the Concords and won an Oscar for writing an original song in the 2011 Muppets film. He's clearly a very talented man. In fact, I think he did a good job for the requirements for that character for the most part. He really seems like a slimy character when he needs to be. However, in terms of acting, my problem with McKenzie was that he kept his Kiwi accent. It's a fine accent to have, but when Jane exclaimed to him near the end: "Wait, you're not British?" with such surprise, I yelled at the screen "OF COURSE HE'S NOT BRITISH!" Why keep that line in if you knew you weren't having a British accented actor play the part? Even if Jane had managed to never met anyone who wasn't American like her before Austenland, she would have still been able to tell that Martin isn't English like Colonel Andrews and Mr Nobley. My real problem with Martin however, (prepare to be un-surprised by this) is how he was written. For example, there is a scene when the character Captain East flirts with Jane. As this is happening, Martin walks by in the background, observes the scene and drops the handles of his wheelbarrow in shock before storming off, hurt. There was no need for this reaction from him when we know Jane didn't see it. This act is clearly for the audience's benefit, yet it's only a lazy attempt to deceive us into thinking Jane will end up with Martin. Yet to their credit, it genuinely worked.
I was genuinely confused when Jane ended up with Nobley the first time I saw this film. I was confused because I couldn't see Jane ending up happily ever after with either of the men in her love triangle. For a start, I don't really understand why either man would be attracted to her, because there is so little to her character. She isn't supposed to be a Jessica Rabbit type either, so it isn't a physical attraction the male characters are all drawn in by (which is nice, yet confusing when her personality adds nothing to attract either). Martin is a sleaze and Nobley, while lovely, seems a lot more invested in her than she is in him. So how is this an equal happily ever after for them both?
Overall, the film has a promising cast and the occasional nice Austen reference. However, the references are few and far between (some of which you would have to check the film's IMDb Trivia page if you really wanted to know) and it's hard to enjoy a film when such a bland main character is leading you through it. At least it introduced me to J.J. Feild.
THE SCOREBOARD
Chick Flick Check List Elements: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 22, 25, 30 x2, 32, 36, 37, 56, 60
Total: 18
Is this really a chick flick or will men like it too? They might get a couple of laughs, but not in the way the film wants you too.
Quote of the film: "Jane listen. Listen right now. If I were to sleep with you tonight, I would actually speak to you the next day, unlike any man you will meet a hundred years from now." - Lizzie
Would I recommend this film? I recommend J.J. Feild, so yes?
Film rating: 5/10
