I've spent the past two nights watching the new British television version of Austen's Northanger Abbey*, and I'm happy to report that it's not bad. It's well cast and nicely filmed, and while it doesn't do justice to Austen's gleefully biting novel (they whipped right through the laundry list scene, probably so they could spend more time training the camera on Isabella Thorpe's heaving bosom--truly a sight to behold--and Catherine in a series of low-cut nightgowns), it's loads better than the recent big-screen version of Pride and Prejudice.

My only quibble is that the actor who's playing Mr. Tilney seems a little too flirtatious in his early scenes with Catherine. I've always read his attitude in these scenes as "Cute girl--a little dim, but what can you do?", while this version seemed to be going for "Cute girl--I'll pull on her pigtail and maybe she'll dream about me tonight!" Still, J.J. Feild is super smokin' hot, so who am I to quibble?

*I'm downloading it from YouTube--there's nothing quite like trying to watch an entire movie in 5-minute-long increments.

Labels: Jane Austen, TV