This isn't a film that allows you to harp on about technical merits or auteur directing; the soundtrack didn't really stand out either. But, I just love it.
It's a real guilty-pleasure.
In the same way I find it difficult to resist 90s rap music or the way I saw Notting Hill at the cinema nine times despite it being completely inferior to Four Weddings and a Funeral, it just seems easier to leave this film running on the television even if it has been playing on Sky Movies three times a day for the last two months.
Of course, it has Maria Bello and Emily Blunt to look at throughout which is a huge bonus. The story is somewhat wishy-washy and chick-flicky but this doesn't seem to matter. I find myself being drawn into a Jane Austen world where people think a man in a wet shirt is sexier than a naked breast and enduring devotion is not as alluring as unspoken love.
I haven't even read any Austen. I stay away from the 'classics' section of any book shop. A classic for me is 'Choke' by Chuck Palahniuk or 'Survivor' by Chuck Palahniuk or even 'Lullaby' by, er, Chuck Palahniuk. I have seen most Gwynneth Paltrow films though so I know what Emma is about.
Strangely, this film makes me want to know more about Austen. Perhaps even read some myself. It has some mystifying power over me despite it being incredibly obvious and predictable and cheesy in places. It's almost 1:30am and, if this film came on now, I'd be tempted to stay up . I deleted it from my Sky+ just because I like the thrill of stumbling across it by accident. (It wasn't until the fourth watch that I managed to glimpse the opening seven or eight minutes.)
The acting is solid throughout, especially Hugh Dancy who plays the male lead with real charm but there's nothing I can really put my finger on. It's a feeling. A sensation that you are watching something good-hearted and leaves you feeling content despite the predictability of various character's final outcomes.
It's a bit average but completely watchable over and over and over again.
I'm sorry. But it is. And I don't know why.
Rating: 