Tag Archives: romance

Mr. Malcolm’s List

It is movie review time! The movie is Mr. Malcolm’s List. It is a light-hearted, fluffy regency romance along the lines of Pride and Prejudice if it were written by a modern author. It was fun and very predictable. The plot was predictable – which is mostly good for me as I got what I expected.

Spoilers ahead.

Movie poster for Mr Malcolm’s List – image from the internet.

There were some very interesting moments. I liked Lord Cassy, who played the part of supportive fool very well. I liked the issues that were mentioned (but not fully developed) in several of the scenes. I would say the overall plot of misunderstanding and expectation is a good starting point for a romance. 

So much like modern times, appearance is everything. Julia Thistlewight is trying to engage the affections of the most eligible Honorable Mr Malcolm. When he appears to snub Julia, it becomes the fuel for a caricature. Feeling publicly embarrassed and deeply unhappy about the experience, Julia uses her cousin to better understand the sudden change in attention. Discovering that Mr Malcolm has produced a list of requirements for his prospective wife, Julia comes up with a scheme to bring the wealthy bachelor down a peg or two. Julia enlists the help of a school friend, Selina Dalton, to enact her revenge.  

Movie poster for Mr Malcolm’s List – image from the internet.

Of course as Selina plays her part to become the perfect wife according to Mr Malcolm’s list, she is increasingly apprehensive about the deception Julia has planned. Things finally come to a head during a masquerade ball, where Mr Malcolm believes he is proposing to Selina, when in fact it is Julia. Without saying a word, she hands Mr Malcolm a list of requirements for a husband, for which he fails. 

For me the biggest issues were the character development and the pacing. We reach this climatic moment of tension, when Malcolm believes he has been rejected and in the next heartbeat, it is clearly shown that Julia was the perpetrator, although Selina was complicit. I would likely have played with mistaken identities longer. But worse than that, there is only one really good scene where Malcolm and Selina talk – well fight – over the deception. Then two speeches of forgiveness between other characters and Malcolm propose successfully to Selina. I think it needed to explore the hurt feelings further. I would have cut some of the earlier wasted time to explore how these two reconcile their different perspectives. 

Movie poster for Mr Malcolm’s List – image from the internet.

I suppose in that way, this was not the same as Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth and Darcy have their misunderstanding earlier (and more than one), and it is really over the course of the story that they come to appreciate and love the other. While this is not the same formula followed in this movie, a longer ending would have made for a stronger story. I also would have sharpened up the dialogue. 

The characters and their motivations needed some work. Take Julia, the manipulative friend. We are supposed to be sympathetic towards the woman. But we really need to see how she has suffered because of the public humiliation. We need to see more explicitly her role in society. The story could explore how she is trying to change her personality to attract an eligible husband. For instance, it is demonstrated that Julia is a crack shot with a gun – an extraordinary skill for a female in that world. So build on this. Why is she good with the gun? Is she secretly more of a sporty female, but works hard to hide that aspect in order to appear more lady-like? If so, how else can this be played up so that the audience is more connected with Julia and also for comedic effect. 

Movie poster for Mr Malcolm’s List – image from the internet.

Malcolm would have been stronger if he was less silent. I get the stoic vibe they were going for, but there was not nearly enough interaction with other people for anything more than ‘silent-type’ to present. He needs to be thrust into conversation with others, willingly and unwillingly if we are to swoon over the leading man. Afterall, he is supposed to be the catch of the season, and not just because of his money. He also needs to exude more charm. 

Visually, it was fun to watch. I am always fascinated how they can film historical images that lack the obvious modern elements – like hydro-poles and such. The costumes were nice. The diversity of the cast was well done. It was a good movie, perhaps not a classic, but decent. A little more polish with the script (the dialogue) and pacing and this would be a really great film. Still, I am giving it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Age of Adeline – movie review

This image belongs to the owners of the film and its distribution rights - not me.

This image belongs to the owners of the film and its distribution rights – not me.

It has been a terribly long time since I posted. I apologize. There have been many reasons. I had password issues that meant I was unable to log onto the blog for a couple of months. I have been travelling (as Kevin has already mentioned). I have been busy living in Japan and so have consumed little media (certainly little worth comment) and I have been a little lazy. Well, I am back and while I do not make promises to be regular I will certainly try to do better.

The first thing I would like to review is a movie. It is not a new movie. In fact I watched it in August while on a 14 hour flight from Japan to Tokyo.

I knew practically nothing about The Age of Adeline when I selected from the limited pool of available movies. Whatever I might have thought it would be about (something through time based on the costume clips), it wasn’t. It was however, surprisingly good. A movie that I really enjoyed enough that I have actually watched it again.

The Age of Adeline was released in April 2015 to moderate reviews – apparently. I was just looking this up on the internet. Sometimes it is best to go into a film with as little information as possible. It certainly worked to my advantage for this one. The movie tells the story of Adeline, born January 1, 1908. Through an accident and science-magic she stops appearing to age when she is 29 years old. The story is mostly told from the present day with a few flashbacks to various points in her life. It is a romance in the classic, predictable way of romances. However, knowing how it is going to end does not spoil the journey, at least for me.

What I liked about this Sleeping Beauty-esq tale was the voice of the film. Not literally the man who did the voice-over exposition at the start and end of the movie, although I liked that choice. It was the feel. I liked the costumes, the cinematography, the way the characters conversed, and the flow of the story. I suppose I liked the clean, simple tale of life that had nothing to do with massive explosions, overly dramatic moments or superheroes. Perhaps it was the change that appealed most to me as other people didn’t seem to enjoy the film as much as I did.

This image is also from the movie and not owned by me.

This image is also from the movie and not owned by me.

I thought the story of Adeline Bowman to be interesting. It may not have touched on her past as much as I would have liked, but I think it hit all the key moments. I also enjoyed those small moments that connected past and present. For example when she is attending a New Year’s Eve party at a fancy hotel and looking at photos on the wall, which include her with a different group of people some fifty or sixty years earlier. She was a classy character and I found Blake Lively’s soft-spoken performance compelling. I liked the costume choices and the touch of old that even the modern Adeline incorporated into her wardrobe. Visually, the film was appealing.

The rest of the cast was also engaging. Adeline’s daughter was the most interesting relationship and unfortunately the weakest. It would have been interesting to explore more of the hardships of watching your child age as you do not. Though they did try to do some interesting things between the characters, it was not the greatest strength of the film. After all this was a romance. As such it focused mostly on the present day love interest of Ellis Jones and the older love interest of William Jones.

This is not my image and I do not own it.

This is not my image and I do not own it.

Yes, those two are related as father and son – one of the more … awkward moments. Though no one seems to really make much of a deal that William had been ready to propose to Adeline long before he married Ellis’ mother. I recognize the use of this sort of relationship (father and son both falling in love with the same ageless woman) was done in order to move the plot forward. It was used to force Adeline to face her own life and choices. Still I thought it a bit much that Adeline’s Prince Charming was the son of the man who wanted to marry her some 45-ish years earlier. I suppose it did add for an interesting exploration of William’s character and whether he was still happy with his choices after so much time had passed.

The Age of Adeline was a nice story. I really enjoyed watching and would recommend it as a good, sweet romance.