The Film Tease

Well…it’s another week of this lovely quarantine and that means that it’s another week of me weeping over the amount of homework I have while also watching as many movies as possible. When I’m not re-watching some of my favourites, I like to watch movies that I’ve always wanted to watch but for some reason, never bothered to. This week’s movie choice was Interview With A Vampire starring a young Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and baby Kirsten Dunst.

I’m assuming by now that many of you have seen this movie as it has been out for 25-26 years. For those who have not, here’s a quick synopsis straight from Wikipedia: The film focuses on Lestat (Cruise) and Louis (Pitt), beginning with Louis‘s transformation into a vampire by Lestat in 1791. The film chronicles their time together, and their turning of ten-year-old Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) into a vampire. The narrative is framed by a present-day interview, in which Louis tells his story to a San Francisco reporter (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview_with_the_Vampire_(film).

Firstly, I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie. Not only for the storyline and characters but also for its overall aesthetic. I love the simplicity that 80s and 90s movies offer us; especially during a time when 99% of the movies that we watch are riddled with special effects. Interview With A Vampire doesn’t take place in modern day (in this case 1994) for most of the movie but rather, the far and distant past. We spend a lot of time with Louis and Lestat in the 1700s and the 1800s, whether it’s New Orleans or Paris. Neither of these regions are familiar to us yet it doesn’t feel foreign because the filmmakers do such a great job at making the world feel real and fleshed out.

Something else that I really liked is that Louis’ story felt like it could actually be a documentary. I never felt like I was watching a fictional movie about a vampire and his life, even though I know that vampires don’t exist (or do they). For me, I could suspend my belief and immerse myself enough in the story that it felt like one that was real and had actually happened. I could imagine that we lived in a world with a vampire that was over 200 years old and regretted the choice that would make it immortal. I know it’s kind of bizarre but maybe it’s because I spent my teenaged years as a Twilight fanatic.

The characters of Louis, Lestat, and Claudia were also incredibly entertaining, gripping, complex, and fleshed out. They each had their different characteristics and it was interesting to see how those played out over the long decades. Louis still had a lot of his humanity within him, which we saw with his struggles to drink human blood. Lestat, was the ultimate predator and drank multiple people at a time because it was fun. Then there was 10 year-old Claudia, who could be both depending on who had the greater influence in her life. At first, she was the stone cold killer who drank and drank; but once Louis started caring for her, she became a bit more human.

Interview With A Vampire is the perfect anecdote for people who romanticize vampires. It shows how someone who is desperate to die still chooses immortality and then immediately regrets it. From the moment that Louis is transformed until he has interview with Daniel Molloy, it’s clear that has not accepted his choice to become a vampire. In fact, Louis’ entire story is a warning about vampirism and why immortality is not as exciting as people assume it is. But even with the horrors that are told by Louis, there are still those who wear rose coloured glasses when when it comes to living forever…Daniel Molloy included.

I quite liked that on the other side of the spectrum, we have Lestat who appears to love being a vampire. As I said earlier, Lestat loves to drink through many people at a time and uses his charm to lure in the vulnerable. He also doesn’t have any qualms with transforming humans into vampires and teaching them his barbaric ways. But with all of that said, it also feels like Lestat struggles with not having a choice. He tells Louis and Molloy that he will give them the opportunity to choose [vampirism]; a choice that was not extended to him. Although we only hear this extension of choice twice, it’s an interesting character decision because it gives Lestat some depth. Perhaps he’s not the bloodsucking killer that he projects; maybe there is more to his story?

Unfortunately, we never really get that answer as this movie is Louis’ story so by the end, Lestat is still an enigma to us all. I could probably go on and on about Interview With A Vampire but I don’t want to ruin the movie for anyone who hasn’t seen it. I knew absolutely nothing about this movie and it made the experience a lot more intense and enjoyable for me. I want others to have this same experience if they choose to watch it…And believe me, you really should! Especially if you’re interested in a young and incredibly hot Brad Pitt.

Every once in awhile, I get this urge to watch a low budget, seemingly interesting movie that I’ve never seen before. When I get this urge, more often than not, the movie that I pick is a “monster” movie that focuses on real life animals attacking humans. Whether they’re sharks, anacondas, or alligators, I’m always down to watch a movie that places people in unusual situations while dealing with hugely ferocious creatures. With all of that said, one of *those* days struck me last week, and so, I watched the 2019 Drama/Horror/Thriller (thanks IMDB), Crawl featuring Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper.

The story starts off with swimmer Haley, who receives a call from her sister, telling her to leave the area as a hurricane is about to wreak havoc. Haley, who hasn’t heard from her father in a few weeks, tries to contact him but gets no response. As she begins to panic, Haley decides she’s going to drive down to her father’s home to find him. From there, the father and daughter are stranded and trapped in the houses’s crawl space, while two alligators are hunting them. The movie then becomes a series of failed plans to escape and extraordinary hunting techniques by several alligators in the region.

First off, all I have to say is “what the actual f***.” No really, what did I waste my time watching? I was so ready for a crazy alligator movie and what I got instead was me wishing that I watched Sharknado instead. The premise was interesting, the characters and their relationship was pretty fleshed out, but when it came down to it, the movie did not work for me. I couldn’t understand why someone FROM Florida would drive into a category five hurricane. But that was the least of my worries because the disbelief only escalated from there.

The “killer alligator” idea has been done before but you think that it’ll be done a bit differently and successfully this time around. Yeah…that’s what I thought too. There is so much that happens in this film that creates anxiety, but for me, the one thing that did not, was the main villain: the alligators.

If you’re a bit of an Animal Planet/nature documentary fan like I am, you know how alligators behave. And that means, that this movie will probably enrage you; because I truly do not believe that anyone on this movie has ever watched a documentary about alligators and if they have, they completed disregarded the animals nature and hunting instincts. This movie features alligators that are more like sharks and felines than anything else. They are patient for the hunt, the sniff out blood and they’re ready to “pounce,” they attack and eat people for no reason, and for some reason, they also have the ability to launch through windows and stairs??? These alligators must be a super species because I know for a fact that alligators only hunt when they’re hungry and once they’ve eaten, they’re chilling until they’re hungry again. Yet these ones just eat and eat and eat.

Alligators are NOT actively seeking out their prey and they don’t have a hate boner for humans. But the ones in Crawl do, and it’s amazing to see the alligators constantly try to attack Haley. Anyone who has ever seen a nature documentary knows that once an alligator has a piece of you in its mouth, you are not freeing yourself. It’s going to put you in a death roll and you’re gonna be its meal that keeps it full for the next couple of weeks or months. There’s also no way in hell you’re out swimming an alligator, but for some reason, these facts are null and void in this movie.

Not only does Haley manage to escape several alligators death grips (at different points in the movie), she also manages to out swim them after her father tells her “you’re faster than they are!” Now, I’m all for positive reinforcement from parents but dude…let’s not lie to the girl. Because in reality, that is a HUGE lie that will get her killed, but in Crawl, it’s the truth and won’t He do it, Haley manages to swim faster than a damn alligator.

I also think that the NFL needs to recruit one of the alligators in the film because that guy has some serious throwing power. I kid you not, there was a scene where an alligator grabbed a police officer, threw him in the air, and then TOSSED him to another alligator. Then, three others joined the party and they ripped the man apart. That’s all I really have to say about that because in all of my years nerding out over alligators, I have never seen such extraordinary behaviour.

So…with all of that said, if you’re okay with watching a movie that completely ruins the decent rep of alligators and turns them into feral beasts, Crawl is for you. I’d even suggest that everyone should watch this movie because it is entertaining albeit frustrating and anger inducing. At the end of the day it’s a whirlwind and a movie that will either amuse you or fill you with rage.

Either way, enjoy! And remember: you are not faster than an alligator.

Hello, to my lovely and quarantined readers! I apologize for this delayed post: I have been struggling with the state that the world is in these last couple of weeks and could not find the energy to write anything. I pretty much spent the last week and a bit re-watching movies from my childhood and struggling to finish up assignments that were due. It has been a less than ideal time for most of us and I know that we’re all trying to find little things that make us feel a little more like ourselves.

While I was on this downward spiral of sadness and anxiety, I decided to re-visit one of my favourite movie series: Pirates of the Caribbean. PotC has been some of my most treasured movies since I was 10 years old. I was a huge Orlando Bloom fan (thanks to his stint as the beautiful elf prince, Legolas), and could not wait for another opportunity to see him on the big screen. I was also excited to see Keira Knightley in another role, as my first brush with her beauty and talent was when she was Juliette in Bend It Like Beckham. Ever since that day, Keira has been one of my favourite actresses; her roles have always inspired me, made me cry, and entertained me.

Elizabeth Swann is no exception and is definitely one of my favourite of Keira’s roles. She starts off in The Curse of the Black Pearl as the rich and pampered daughter of the Governor of Port Royal. She wears corsets, has her hair all curled and done up, and is expected to attend ceremonies and dote on Commodore Norrington. She often spends a lot of her time in this movie as the “damsel in distress,” waiting to be saved by Will Turner and her father’s men. Elizabeth looks like everything an upper class citizen should be, but as the movie progresses, we see hints of her strength, courage, and cunning. She is willing to do anything for those she loves (her father, Governor Weatherby Swann as well as her childhood friend, William Turner), even if that means dealing with undead Pirates and getting stranded on a deserted island. Nothing really scares Elizabeth and it amazes us that someone with minimal knowledge about Pirates, can be this brave when facing them.

By the end of the first movie, Elizabeth is still wearing her rich and elegant clothing, but the woman inside is different. She uses her clothing as a tool to save a wronged Pirate – which we see earlier in the film when her too-tight corset causes her to faint. However this time, she fakes the fainting so that Captain Jack Sparrow can be saved. And in that moment, we know that the Elizabeth Swann that we were first introduced to is no more.

Elizabeth’s transformation continues throughout the second and third movies. She has become very skilled with a sword, is capable of fighting several Pirates at once, and her corsets and carefully coiffed hair are long gone. The Elizabeth that we see for the rest of the series is physically different as well. She wears clothes that we’re more likely to see on a Pirate and her hair constantly has a sea worn look. Elizabeth is also more cunning and clever, and does not hesitate to use Pirate trickery to save people and get what she wants. A great example of this is when she manipulates Captain Jack Sparrow into staying on his ship, the Black Pearl, while the ravenous Kraken comes for him. I don’t think that the Elizabeth Swann from the first movie would have done this even though she was starting her transformation.

Perhaps the height of Elizabeth’s transformation is when she is named Pirate King at the meeting of the Brethren Court and immediately delivers a powerful, passionate, and emotionally driven speech about what it means to be a Pirate. To me, this is the pivotal and possibly most important part of the third movie, At World’s End. At this point in the movie, Elizabeth knows what it means to fight for what you want, to pour your blood, sweat, and tears into something you believe in. To manipulate and outplay your enemies to ensure that what you want and love are achieved and kept safe. She has shown time and time again throughout the first three movies that she has what it takes to be a Pirate all while holding on to who she loves and what she believes in.

At the end of the day, everything that Elizabeth did was for the safety of her one true love, William Turner. She was not afraid to fight undead and cursed Pirates because she was brave and strong. And that’s what makes her the ultimate badass. I think people forget that the story of Pirates of the Caribbean has always been Elizabeth Swann’s. She is the character that goes through the most transformations and heartbreak. She is the character that was willing to sacrifice someone that she called a friend because it meant saving the lives of everyone else. And she was the one who swallowed her guilt and ventured to the world’s end to get him back.

Elizabeth also had to learn about her father’s death by seeing and speaking to his spirit, and had to watch the love of her life get stabbed in the heart: where his only saving grace would be to carve out his heart, put it in a chest, and sail the seas forever; all while knowing that they would only see each other one day for every ten years.

Now tell me, how many people do you think would or could survive all of that and still smile and remain a light at the end of the day? Because I’m thinking none. Elizabeth Swann is a reminder that you must remain brave, strong, and courageous, even when times feel dark and hopeless. She’s a reminder that even if you feel like giving up, you shouldn’t, because there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re obviously not going to deal with swashbuckling murderous Pirates, curses, and things like that, but, we can still apply the badass behaviour to all aspects of our lives.

So, here’s to you Elizabeth Swann. You may be a fictional character, but I’m so glad that you got your happy ending.

Since we’re in self-quarantine mode, I decided that it was probably the perfect time to rewatch Titanic. As a kid, Titanic was always one of my favourite movies. Not only because of the love story but because it depicted a tragic and fascinating part of human history that has never been forgotten. For me, it fuelled an obsession with shipwrecks that has continued until this day. I have spent many a time on Google, looking up the worst shipwrecks in history and crying over the many people who died on them. Has it also created a fear for the ocean and huge ships? Yes…But it is what it is.

With all of that said, while watching Titanic, I was quite excited to look up cool facts about the filming of the movie. I couldn’t believe that something that was made in 1997 (and with a budget of $200 million) could be so great. The technology, effects, acting, and music were so amazing; I really felt like I was watching a documentary about the actual tragic shipwreck and not a movie.

It’ll be a short post this week as the self-quarantine has kind of stomped out any joy in me. But I will try my best to be a bit more engaging and exciting with my next post.

For now, enjoy this Buzzfeed article about Titanic: https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/things-you-didnt-know-about-titanic

Confession time: like so many 20 something year old women, I was once a Twihard in my teenaged years. I put aside my love for Harry Potter and picked up Twilight which completely took over my life for several years. I couldn’t wait to read the latest instalments in the series and I just HAD to watch the movies the second that they came out. I still remember watching New Moon with my cousin in theatres and swooning when fit Jacob popped on to the screen. But like so many teenaged girls that came before me, it wasn’t long before I left the sparkly vampires and werewolves in the past and moved on to other things.

Fast forward many years later; I am now 23-24 years old and I’ve decided that I’m going to rewatch the Twilight series from start to finish. Walmart was having a crazy good sale on the blu-ray editions of the movies and I thought, hey, what better time to revisit my Twihard years than now? Little did I know that that innocent question would fuel a strange and powerful wave of nostalgia that I wasn’t quite ready for.

I thought that watching the movies again would just show me how ridiculous, stupid, and corny the movies are. And it did do that for the most part. But it also brought on an obsession that I had not experienced since I was a teenager. I found that I couldn’t stop watching the movies and immersing myself in that world. I knew Bella was a complete moron and the “love” triangle between her, Edward, and Jacob was actually psychotic; but I still found myself sitting on my couch, completely mesmerized by the series. Heck, I sobbed like a baby when Jacob had several ribs broken in Eclipse after their fight with Victoria and the newborns. I felt like I was watching the series through new eyes and these eyes were way more invested than ever before.

Now, it has been three years since I’ve rewatched the series for the first time and I have to admit that it’s still the first on my list when I feel like watching something soul warming (well besides Pride and Prejudice – which you’ll know if you read the post!). I still get excited watching Bella and Edward meet for the first time; hearing Edward play “Bella’s Lullaby” for Bella; and crying while their wedding unfolds before me. Most of all, there is still a sense of sadness whenever I finish the series.

It took me awhile to realize what this sadness was stemming from and then it hit me: I’m heavily nostalgic about the Twilight series because it reminds me of the simpler times of being a teenager. I miss when I thought that a sparkly vampire might “save” me from my dull life or I’d befriend a warm werewolf who was all kinds of right. Yeah, it seems pretty pathetic to think this way at 26 but who hasn’t yearned for easier moments in their life?

I’m constantly worried about my future and whether I’m going to be successful and truly happy with my decisions. And as I inch closer to 30, I’m constantly startled by how much further I am drifting away from being a young teenaged girl who fantasized about a world that would never exist for her but who found joy in that.

I’m not sure how long this nostalgic cycle will last but I hope to enjoy every single moment. Because in the end, this cycle just reminds me that the teenager who loved diamond skinned vampires and an emotional werewolf is still inside. And that’s not a bad thing.

Another short-ish post for you this week. If you know me, you know that How The Grinch Stole Christmas directed by Ron Howard is one of my favourite Christmas movies. It’s ridiculous, fun, and as you get older you realize, it’s quite naughty. I’ve always thought that Jim Carrey was brilliant as the Grinch, but I never knew how difficult the role was for him.

Reading this fact and knowing what he went through made me appreciate the movie and Jim Carrey’s dedication even more that I had before. I know for a fact that I would NOT be able to sit in a make up chair for eight and half hours…every…single…day. It’s quite absurd that he had to do that, but I’m not surprised as I am someone who has watched The Lords of the Rings and The Hobbit‘s behind the scenes footage. Prosthetics are hectic and any actor or actress that decides they’re going to take part in that, deserve several pats on the back (and perhaps a raise).

I know this review is several years late, but I finally watched The Great Gatsby in its entirety for the first time this week. I’ve seen the movie before, back when it was first released in 2013, but I’ve never actually paid attention to the themes and the symbolism. My first brush with Gatsby was back in 2011 when I read the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I remember thinking at the time “what the hell am I reading.” It took me several chapters to actually get into the story and even then, it was kind of hard to wrap my head around what I was reading. I wasn’t a big fan of the book even after spending many hours trying to dissect it for an essay.

The first time I watched the movie was pretty similar to when I read the book. I understood some of the plot points but a lot of it went over my head. The plus side to the movie were the visuals. Oh the visuals. The outfits, the parties, the estates, the cars! So many beautiful things took up my screen and it was glorious. I think I was too busy fantasizing about a lavish 1920s life to really pay attention to the characters and what they were going through.

Now, let’s fast forward to 2020 with my rewatch. This time around, I was determined to not just watch the movie, but really try to understand what was going on. Yes, the beauty still caught my eye, but there was more to the story than that. I truly believe that Baz Luhrmann did a great job with the movie. He captured the busyness and crazy joy during several of Gatsby’s parties and also the loneliness and isolation that Nick and Gatsby felt throughout the movie.

I also really loved how well Baz visually displayed Nick’s realization that the rich are corrupt and selfish. In the beginning, we are also enthralled and amused by the big parties, the day drinking, and the massive homes. But as we learn more about the Buchanans and the great divide between the rich and the poor, the rose coloured lenses become less rosy and more appalled. We’re on this journey with Nick as we discover the selfishness of people and their desire to protect only what is theirs.

Something that I found interesting (and noticed thanks to my film degree – just kidding) is the use of the book cover. In the movie, the book cover is a massive billboard that kind of watches over the miners while also acting as a divide between the rich part of Manhattan and the poor. The billboard is made up of two eyes and huge round glasses (please scroll further down to see it). Whenever God or “being watched” is mentioned, the movie will cut to a shot of the billboard. One such example is when Tom confronts Myrtle about cheating – he says to her “God is always watching” and the next shot is of the billboard. I believe that Baz used the billboard as symbolism for the eyes of God. There is a lot of sinning in this movie (cheating, selfish behaviour, murder) and through it all, God is observing. Whether you are rich or poor, God does not discriminate who is being judged.

The Great Gatsby is really about the corruption of the rich and the American Dream. For so many people, acquiring wealth is the ultimate goal. However, people don’t actually take the time to observe how rich people live. They may look like us and act like us, but they are not us. They are a peoples of their own who only look out for their best interests. Look at Daisy and Tom: they have a daughter. She is mentioned perhaps once or twice by Daisy and that’s it. We only see her at the end of the movie when the Buchanans flee. While watching, I really had to remind myself that their is a little girl in all of this who consistently remains unseen.

Daisy, who is often painted as this sympathetic character, is perhaps the worst of them all. Throughout the entire movie we are led to believe that she traded in her true love for a rich man that does not love her. He has cheated on her multiple times and she is expected to endure it all. Poor Daisy, so alone, hoping that maybe one day she’ll have a love like the one she had with Jay Gatsby. However when that moment arrives, what does Daisy do? She stays with the man that she says is so terrible to her. Never mind that Gatsby strived to be rich for her; or that she also cheated on her husband. When shit hits the fan, what does she do? She lets Jay take the blame for a murder and runs off into the sunset with her husband. After professing to love a man, she doesn’t even go to his funeral.

And no one does. Because in the end, the rich only care about the rich. And Gatsby, as Nick said, was better than the lot of them.

I truly think that so many of these themes resonate today as well. The rich are still in a completely different realm from the rest of us. When the bad things inevitably hit, the rich will look out for themselves and we common folk will have to try and make a living with the crumbs that are left.

It has already begun and yet we haven’t learned from our mistakes or history at all.

As promised, this post will be a short one since I’ve kind of bombarded you all will my rants, reviews, and discussions, over the last couple of weeks. So here is a fun tweet that I saw after Parasite won a ton of awards at the Oscars. It kinda mirrors what I was discussing last week about big studios applying pressure on filmmakers to get their movies out ASAP so that they can make their money.

I like that Bong Joon-ho created this whole fake backstory about his dad to get a scene that he really liked in HIS movie. Harvey Weinstein not even questioning it makes me laugh too because it’s clear that in his eyes, why wouldn’t this South Korean man be just a fisherman? Producers always want to pressure filmmakers to create *their* version of a film instead of going out and making one. Filmmakers know what they’re doing and yeah, they do need some advice from producers sometimes, but that doesn’t mean it’s free reign for the producer to dominate everyone.

So yes, read, comment, and let me know if you found this tweet as funny as I did!

There’s something that has been on my mind for a few years now but I never gave it too much thought until I realised that a certain pattern was forming. Every once in awhile, there is a movie or television series that kinda screams to audiences “hey, the studio/network was money hungry so we’re putting this out even though it’s crap.” I first noticed it with the latter Harry Potter films, then with The Hobbit trilogy, and of course, Game of Thrones. Of course, I didn’t realise that this was what was happening until I watched the appendices of The Hobbit… Which I highly recommend if anyone was asking.

I have always been a huge fan of each of the book series which naturally translated to the films/TV show when they were first released. However, as each series progressed, my joy and excitement quickly dwindled. Everything that I enjoyed from the books were disappearing in front of my eyes as each movie/season became more popular and therefore, generated more money. I couldn’t understand why it was happening for a long time and became sad and outranged over what I was seeing on the screen.

Why were important storylines being erased from Harry Potter? Why were some characters non-existent and others, completely changed? I saw it in Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince with Voldemort’s entire backstory being replaced by horny teenagers. The Hobbit decided it was doing to become a trilogy for no reason and add a bunch of characters that had nothing to do with anything while also losing the magic that The Lord of the Rings had. And don’t get me started of what Game of Thrones did to the beautiful Dorne and the characters that were fleshed out and interesting in A Song of Ice and Fire.

Each series started off so well and so dedicated to the book (well maybe not The Hobbit, but that was riding off of the LOTR love) and by the end, they resembled a world that I didn’t even recognise anymore. As I said upthread, I realised what was happening after I watched the appendices from The Hobbit. In that almost nine hour series, I learned a lot of things that shed light on why the trilogy was the way that it was:

1. Guillermo Del Toro was supposed to be the director and he had a LOT of early artwork/ideas before he walked away from the film.
2. Peter Jackson decided to take on the challenge with only a few months until filming began. Which means he barely had any pre-production time vs. the years he had for LOTR. And the studio would not postpone.
3. PJ tried to do the most that he could with the time that he had but of course, it was hard.
4. The new filming technologies that they used were not as great on the eye as the standard ones.
5. And perhaps the biggest shock of them all: the Battle of the Five Armies was as crappy as it was because the studio pushed PJ and co. to get the film out as SOON as possible. The movie that was sent to theatres was not the one that PJ wanted the world to see. If you want to see a closer version of that, watch the extended edition.

The first four points are pretty depressing to learn but I think the last one tells it all: the studios didn’t care what movie they were putting out in theatres, they just wanted the money that would come from the release. And boy, you could tell that was the case because that movie was a hot mess.

So with that knowledge, it was easy to pick up on what happened with the Harry Potter series that veered so far away from the books in many ways. Once that money started rolling in and the audience was a sure thing, I highly doubt Warner Brothers were concerned about the quality of the movies that they were putting out. The few who were upset about the movies were STILL going out to watch them in theatres because you had to (I am guilty of this).

Most recently, Game of Thrones, HBO, and David Benioff and Daniel Weiss committed the same atrocity with the last season of the show. For a book reader, it was kinda going downhill anyway but the final season was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen (and I also sat through the Dexter series finale). It was clear that HBO only cared about the money because characters were completely obliterated and storylines were lost in the wind. It was also obvious that the show runners had more freedom to prove how much they didn’t care once the source material ran out. It’s easy to send a big “F— you” to your fans when you know they’re still going to watch. The show lovers will watch because they don’t know any better and the book lovers will slowly damage themselves because they know they’re not getting those final books any time soon.

So with all of that said, I think it’s obvious that these studios and networks won’t bother to make quality adaptations when they know that the Potterheads, Tolkienites, and the loyal fans, will always show up.

• 

If you know me, you know that one of my favourite movies is Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice (2005). Not only does the movie feature one of my favourite actresses, Keira Knightley, it also began my appreciation for Matthew MacFadyen’s Mr. Darcy. I have watched P&P countless times and it never gets old for me even though I cannot relate to anything in the story. I am not white, I have never been to England, and guess what? I’ve never lived in the late 18th century. I’m pretty sure if I did, I’d probably be a slave. But even with all of those odds stacked against me, it’s still a movie that I put on when I’m feeling down or if I just want to escape for awhile.

Starting this blog has made me question why I love this movie so much when it’s not relatable; and I think it’s because it romanticises what we view as a simpler time. Why wouldn’t we be interested in a live that revolved around fancy balls, feasts, reading, and playing the piano? A life where women could start deciding who they wanted to marry and when they wanted to leave their familial home. Elizabeth Bennet and her four sisters are constantly encouraged by their mother to find a husband but they are never quite forced to do so. When Mrs. Bennet tries to *make* Lizzie marry Mr. Collins, Lizzie exclaims that she will not do it, and, her father backs her up. In an earlier time than this, I don’t think that this would have been possible.

And did I mention the balls hosted by rich men? I don’t care who you are, the thought of getting dressed and attending a mansion for a dance is a marvellous one. While watching P&P, you are constantly rooting for Lizzie and Mr. Darcy to get over their pride and realise they love each other… You want Jane and Mr. Bingley to get married and live a wonderful life together. You’re practically screaming at the TV for the characters to get over themselves even though you know that they eventually will in the end.

Because at the heart of it, Pride and Prejudice is a love story. And who doesn’t love a good love story? Especially one set in a time that we will never experience and with a main character who feels very modern. Lizzie is a modern woman in that she speaks her mind and is single in her mid 20s (the horror). It’s easy to watch this movie and see yourself in her because she is who women have always been throughout history – trailblazers.

As I said earlier, Pride and Prejudice is romantic and makes everything seem beautiful and flowery, but it’s almost too good at its job. Like every single movie set in this time, P&P makes you forget that the 18th century was disgusting. People rarely showered, there was no central plumbing, and basic hygiene was nonexistent. And in case you didn’t know, the average age of death was 41 years old.

So yes, even though Pride and Prejudice is a movie about love, family, and self discovery all wrapped in a pretty idealistic British package, it’s also important to remember that real life was nothing like that for majority of the world. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the beauty in these movies.

One of my favourite past times is watching P&P with a big cup of tea and snuggling with my blankets. I’ll probably do that tonight because school has been really tough these last couple of weeks and I need some one on one time with Mr. Darcy.