Friday, November 25, 2005

Froggy style

You'd think that Pride and Prejudice's popularity would be limited to Anglophone countries where Jane Austen's work is well known, but it appears that the series has made an impact worldwide. Here's a sample of the French take on it - a review from Le Monde in 2003, with high praise for Ms Ehle:

Le jeu raffiné de Jennifer Ehle est à la hauteur de celui d'Emma Thompson, dans Raison et sentiments. Avec plus de retenue que la seconde, la première manifeste une grâce et un charme qui n'ont d'égal que son talent, déjà éprouvé dans d'autres productions de la télévision britannique. A l'image de celle d'Emma Thompson, la beauté de Jennifer Ehle ne correspond guère aux canons hollywoodiens, mais elle s'impose. L'éclat modulé de ses yeux sombres reflète toutes les nuances de l'âme de son personnage.

Standard caveat - rough translation only:

The refined acting of Jennifer Ehle is of the same calibre as Emma Thompson's in Sense and Sensibility. With more restraint than the latter, the former shows a grace and charm that have no equal but her talent, as already proven in other British TV productions. Like Emma Thompson's, Jennifer Ehle's beauty hardly corresponds with the Hollywood ideal, but she makes an impression. The controlled flash of her dark eyes reflects all the nuances of her character's soul. [more]

Speaking of Pride and Prejudice, I've heard of people using the series as a cure for exam blues and as a sort of comfort food when ill, but never this...

It’s not an easy life, at all, admitting to being a “Janeite,” as Rudyard Kipling would say. As one of them, I am herded together with an illusive cabal of old ladies whose books rest near scented candles on nightstands, rather than the other fans I actually know, who spend five hours on Sunday watching the BBC version of the P&P miniseries because it’s their hangover cure.

From Detroit's Metro Times.

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