Lorna Doone
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Movie Reviews of Lorna Doone
Movie Review: Watch it!!
Summary: 5 Stars
GREAT Movie!!! At the end of the movie it took me 10 minutes to catch my breath!!Movie Review: excellent period piece with wonderful actors
Summary: 5 Stars
A wonderful film - the two lead actors are perfect. Don't miss this one!!Movie Review: Love's Labours Rewarded
Summary: 4 Stars
I have not seen the various earlier movie versions of Lorna Doone (including the previous BBC 1990 one) but have read the novel several times (one of my favourites). This dazzling BBC production is well worth viewing. In a little under three hours the producers have managed to encompass a great deal of the novel's plot into the screen play. If, instead they had made the novel into a television multi-series it might have become tedious. In this movie, however, there is never a dull moment, it the best kind of intelligent action film.
The original novel was written by Richard D. Blackmore (1825-1900). His classic novel Lorna Doone was published in 1869 and it was an instant success. Few of his other novels are memorable and the only other one that was successful during his life was Springhaven (published in 1887) a tale based on the Napoleonic Wars. Nowadays, Lorna Doone is the only novel he is remembered by and is still read. Like many mid-Victorian novels the plot in the book (which is nearly 600 pages long even in the modern small print editions) is involved and takes more time to unravel than in the BBC version.
The problems of time and space in the context of a movie have been overcome, however, by deft handling. For example, the vague hints of the title heroine's true origins come fairly early in the novel when the hero is still a school boy but in the movie a scene is added later when the secret is unveiled. As with usual BBC classic productions the cast is well chosen. The veteran lantern-jawed actor Peter Vaughan is the clan leader Sir Ensor Doone and both actors cast respectively for hero John Ridd (Richard Coyle) and anti-hero or villain Carver Doone (Aiden Gillen) could not have been better chosen. It is strange, though, how Carver never seems to grow older during the passing of years in the plot. Lorna is admirably played by Ameila Warner and the King's Messenger, Jeremy Stickles, by Martin Clunes. The only historical as opposed to fictitious character is the harsh macabre humour Judge Jefferys played to a tee by Michael Kitchen.
The photography and period costumes are excellent and the West country accents near perfect but intelligible. The novel's setting is Exmoor in Devon but much of the movie was shot in Wales. The studio set shots of London city in the late seventeenth century seem a bit too pristine for the period. The plot may hard to follow for those who have not read the book or lack knowledge of the history of the failed West Country Monmouth protestant rebellion during the reign of catholic leaning James II. The role of the ex-highwayman Tom Faggus is not well spelled out in the movie.
I would recommend that those who are new to Lorna Doone watch the movie first , read the novel and then watch the movie again.
Movie Review: Swashbuckling romance -- works for me!
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this film because I am a fan of the BBC comedy Coupling, and in the bio notes on actor Richard Coyle, this piece is listed prominently among his previous screen credits. I was amazed -- the same actor who plays sex-obsessed, socially inept Jeff on Coupling, as a dashing, heroic, romantic leading man in a period piece? This, I had to see, so I set out to hunt this down.
Well, I have now watched the film twice, and I am glad I spent my money on it. I vaguely remember the original book (read it more years ago that I care to admit to), and what I remember, the film follows fairly well. I am not up on the nuances of that period of history, so if there are anachronisms, they went right past me and didn't in any way spoil my enjoyment.
Richard Coyle filled the boots of noble farmer John Ridd in excellent style, and I discovered that the man is devilishly handsome, especially when he smiles, a fact that escaped my notice in his portrayal of Jeff, whose manic, left of center personality distracts you from paying attention to that. I'd wondered how far his range would stretch -- well, it appears to have the elasticity of a bungee cord; I didn't flash on Jeff once in the entire two and a half hours, which is a tribute to the actor's skill.
Amanda Warner, as Lorna, was everything she should have been; innocent in many ways, much too wise in others, cameo pretty and with unexpected backbone. Her confrontation with John over the letters was very well done, as Lorna tries to remain aloof as her heart breaks over the supposed abandonment (I'm really not sure why she allowed Gwennie to remain with her after that, I'm not sure I'd have been that forgiving).
The supporting cast was uniformly excellent -- special nods to the performers playing Judge Jeffries, Counsellor Doone, Captain Stickles, and Ruth Huckaback (my apologies for not listing names here, I can't remember them .... )who truly stood out in the ensemble.
My only true gripe with the performances, and I don't know if I can put the blame on the performer, the writer, or the director, must fall on Aiden Gillen. His Carver was just a bit too over the top, and played as more of a caricature than a character -- I never felt that he really cared for Lorna, more that he saw her as a means to an end, a possession (got the same feeling from Billy Zane's character in Titanic, too). If they could have made his feelings come out more, I probably would have been all right with the rest.
In all, I was very pleased with the film, and I will cheerfully watch it again. If you want an absorbing period piece to whisk you into another time and place, I recommend this one.
Movie Review: Great Family-Friendly Entertainment
Summary: 4 Stars
A very nice mounting of the old romance novel by R.D. Blackmore. Production values are very good, especially the fortress erected by the outlaw Doones, the costumes, and the battle scenes. Lovely hill and dale landscapes of Wales--even though the story is set in county Devon--are a major plus.
One wonders why the exiled Doones, a Scottish clan, so long to return to their ancient homelands in the north, when it's even more wet, frosty, and desolate up there! You can feel the damp and cold of the misty green moors in your bones. It's good to see the venerable Peter Vaughn once again playing the crusty, slightly crazed patriarch, the type of role he's played to perfection, going all the way back to Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs, more than thirty years ago. And I was very surprised to see Aidan Gillan playing his evil, treacherous, scheming grandson Carver Doone, having seen him more recently in season 3 of HBO's The Wire, as the scheming and treacherous councilman Calcetti, complete with amazingly authentic eastern US accent.
Gun experts might find it problematic that the single shot flintlock pistols are fired continuously during battle scenes, as if the guns were revolvers or held magazines! But I quibble.....
The two young leads make a very handsome couple. Lorna is played perfectly by the stunningly beautiful Amelia Warner, with her flawless, dewy complexion, magnificent lips, fabulous eyes. You can easily see why she would be an object of obsession! Her warmth and genuine compassion shine through as well, making her a paragon of virtue and beauty.
This would make a great evening or two of family entertainment. And you will probably want to read the book as well.