VIEWING: Sense and Sensibility (BBC, 2008)

My love of Jane Austen's works didn't begin until a certain day in 1995 when I blithely entered a movie theater to see Sense and Sensibility starring Emma Thompson. I don't have any recollection of what I expected on that fateful day but it certainly wasn't to fall in love. But fall in love I did. With the works of plucky Miss Jane Austen.

I returned to the theater several times to watch that film again and again. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet seemed to me to be the worlds' best actresses and I wanted to see everything they'd ever been in after viewing this movie. And Jane Austen was a revelation.

I went out and bought the soundtrack to that movie. I played the soundtrack endlessly ("My Father's Favourite" is haunting to me still). The DVD of this movie was the first DVD I ever owned.

And I bought the book and read it. Suddenly, this phenomenon that is Jane Austen was awakened in me.

Emma Thompson as Elinor was my absolute favorite part of this movie. She is so refined, so circumspect, so restrained. All qualities that I desire and all qualities that elude me. That absolutely incredible last scene where Edward comes to the cottage to see Elinor after Lucy has left him and he is finally, finally, finally free. And Elinor's quiet restraint departs her completely. Has there ever been a better scene? More said with so few words? I still watch it at least twice a year just because I can laugh and cry at the exact same moment.

Let's not forget her sister either. Kate Winslet as Marianne is sublime. I got this character on a deeply cellular level: emotional, heedless, soaked in romance and, yes, even fantasy. And (here comes my own wild, fantastical claim) I could have done that part with my eyes closed at that age. Kate Winslet and I were one body and one mind as far as her Marianne goes. I've felt a strange sort of kinship with Ms. Winslet ever since.

All of that is just to say that I finally saw the three-hour BBC version of Sense and Sensibility that was released this year. And (prepare for a shocker here) I LOVE IT. It is quiet and funny and serene and tempestuous all at the same time. The screenplay is a lovely, faithful adaptation to the book and there are several scenes dramatized in this movie that are only reported on in the book, such as the duel between Willoughby and Colonel Brandon and the seduction of little Miss Eliza.

Also, I was particularly thrilled to see the inclusion of several minor characters that were missed in the 1995 version, including Anne Steele, Lucy's obnoxious older sister, as well as Lady Middleton the very shy and easygoing wife of Sir John Middleton, and Colonel Brandon's ward, Eliza. All of them add depth and texture to the film.

To check out clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with some of the cast, see this page on Masterpiece Theater's website.

You can also purchase the DVD on Amazon. Also, I would watch this clip on the Amazon page. The producers are talking about why they did this particular adaption of the novel and then it shows the library scene where Edward speaks to Elinor before he leaves Norland. It is all politeness and formality with a fabulous tension running underneath the surface because these two people have fallen in love and yet they can't profess that love. It is one of my favorite scenes from this movie.

Edward is particularly gorgeous in this film (i.e. the wood chopping scene in the rain) and Willoughby is even naughtier than in any other adaptation I've seen. And I like Colonel Brandon so much better than poor Alan Rickman's version. Marianne is played beautifully by a young actress who barely seems 17 herself, and the little sister, Margaret, is played by the same girl who was young Beatrix in Miss Potter.

But once again, my favorite character is Elinor--subdued, restrained, pragmatic and secretly heartbroken Elinor. She is simply lovely. I think because of the three-hour length of the film there are several more scenes where you see the particular torture that Elinor had to endure at the hands of Lucy Steele as she pressed continuously her hidden engagement to Edward. And you see even more clearly what it costs Elinor to keep this secret with all of its attendant ramifications to her very own happiness.

So, to any of you Austen fans out there (and some of their husbands), I'd love to hear your reactions to this latest installment to the Austen media library. For me, it is a keeper.

Whatchoo Doing?

Just a sampling of some of the thoughts that have been running around in my head today. None of it is enough for a more formal review yet, but each of these items have made me think in some way and I wanted to capture these thoughts. I may choose to review the books or movie later or I may not. But these are some of the things that have my temporary attention.

Reading:

• The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, [go organic, locally-sourced food and sustainable farming! I want to live just like this.]
• Desperate Marriages by Gary Chapman, [Can any marriage truly be saved? This book seems to give that hope. Bless his heart, I hope so.]
• All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling Down House by David Giffels [Can I buy a broken-down mansion too?]

Watching:

• The Business of Being Born

I wrote about wanting to see this movie a few months ago. I'm completely inspired by the power and vulnerability of a woman giving birth. So, I finally got to see the movie and loved it in some ways and took issue with it in other ways. I really loved how it ended too. The documentary deals with a lot of ideals in birthing and then ended with a not-so-perfect birth situation and that was heartwarming to me too. Likely because it reminds me that I can have ideals too but sometimes life doesn't always play out according to my ideals.

At times the movie felt a bit too much like a girlfriends' klatch with "girl power" reigning supreme. But then that is exactly the feeling I think needs to be inserted more into our birthing views. More welcoming of women's keen intuitive powers and emotional support systems. Science is very good and well in its proper place, but in our too-strong reliance on science's narrow focus, we sometimes forget words like: magical, powerful, warmth, unity. The spirituality and emotion that can accompany the miracle of birth seems marginalized and anesthetized away at times. There is a rare glimpse of true beauty that comes from holding and helping a woman who is bearing down as blood, water, pain and joy erupt into new life. It isn't the kind of experience that can be neatly packaged and produced before the 5 o'clock news or after a good night's sleep.

I like what this movie makes me think about: greater respect and greater attention to this oh-so-powerful and oh-so-daily miracle of life.

Watching: Fit for the Kingdom

I read about some documentary films from BYU in this Mormon Times article. The films are available at fitforthekingdom.byu.edu and began as a collaboration between a student and professor to make films that briefly focus on one aspect of living life as a Mormon. The website is titled Fit for the Kingdom: Documentary Films about Mormons. The filmmakers' goals are to show

films [that] are raw and basic, devoid of theatrics and excess emotion-inducing elements. The titles are also simple, with most being named after the person who is the subject of the film.

Most are really very simple films: a mother trying to get her pre-teen kids to turn off the video games, a young mother raising two little kids, a family reading the scriptures together (or trying to), a missionary cleaning out her car the day before she leaves.

Most are only ten to twenty minutes long and are great snapshots of the dailiness of living an LDS life. Here are a few that I saw and liked:

Girl's Camp--because snipe hunting is still an integral part of camp
Lloya--mother of eleven who is still growing as a mother
Lorien--thoughts from a missionary a day away from leaving home
Primary South London--this is the life of a Primary teacher
Ramona--young mother who is busy raising two little ones and sees her husband's sacrifices
Robinsons--a farmer in the colonies in Mexico (Dad, you will like this one)
Scriptures--does your family look like this when you read the scriptures?

But really, the documentary that is the most tender and evocative is the hour-long Angie. This film follows the three-year arc of a mother fighting breast cancer. It really comes from home videos that a film professor took to chronicle his wife's journey through the highs and lows of battling cancer. After her death, friends of his lovingly shaped the footage into a tribute to her for her family. It is not a graphic film, but it is a bit terrifying in its simplicity and dailiness. Angie is your neighbor, your friend, your sister, or you.

Maybe you will see your reflection in one of these films.