A Passionate Woman

I recently saw a film based on the true story of a British housewife. The film comes in two parts and is called A Passionate Woman. Part one takes place in the 50s and part two takes place in the present and each is from Betty's point of view. She is content, but is not particularly happy in her marriage. As a young woman, she has a brief affair with her Polish neighbor. Now, as her son is about to get married, it seems as though all of her secrets will come crashing down on her.

I liked the first part of this film a lot more than the second part. None of the performances in the second part of the film seemed particularly compelling or true, and nothing much really happened at all. Billie Piper was amazing as Betty in the first party of the film, but in only 90 minutes, was not really able to delve as deeply into the character as I would have like. That said, I think that I am particularly critical of the film, because I liked it so much.

This film is definitely a must-see, and I would definitely recommend it!

Dream Cast Thursday! (actually Friday) Emma

This week, I will be recasting Emma. It was originally a book by Jane Austen. There have been many adaptations. The two adaptations that I am familiar with were each done in 1996. The first Emma was made for television. The second Emma was a feature film.

First, I recast Emma Woodhouse. In the two original films, Kate Beckingsale and Gwyneth Paltrow were cast. I decided to cast Emily Blunt.

The second character that I cast was Mr. Knightley. The two original films cast Mark Strong and Jeremy Northam. I cast Toby Stephens.

The third character that I recast was Harriet Smith. The two original films cast Samantha Morton and Toni Collette. I recast Billie Piper.

The fourth character that I recast was Mr. Elton. The two original films cast were Dominic Rowan and Alan Cumming. I reacast David Tennant.

The fifth character that I recast was Mrs. Elton. The two original films cast Lucy Robinson and Juliet Stevenson. I recast Alex Kingston.

The sixth character that I recast was Frank Churchill. The two original films cast Raymond Coulthard and Ewan McGregor. I recast Rupert Penry-Jones.

The seventh and last character that I recast was Miss Bates. The two original films cast Prunella Scales and Sophie Thompson. I recast Sally Hawkins.

What do you all think? Who would you cast in a new adaptation of Emma?