Writer: Guy Andrews
Director: Dan Zeff
Cast: Jemima Rooper (Amanda Price), Alex Kingston (Mrs. Bennet), Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Bennet), Elliot Cowan (Mr. Darcy), Morven Christie (Jane Bennet), Tom Riley (Wickham), Perdita Weeks (Lydia Bennet), Gemma Arterton (Elizabeth Bennet), Christina Cole (Caroline Bingley), Lindsay Duncan (Lady Catherine de Bourgh), Guy Henry (Mr. Collins), Michelle Duncan (Charlotte Lucas) & Tom Mison (Mr. Bingley)
Director: Dan Zeff
Cast: Jemima Rooper (Amanda Price), Alex Kingston (Mrs. Bennet), Hugh Bonneville (Mr. Bennet), Elliot Cowan (Mr. Darcy), Morven Christie (Jane Bennet), Tom Riley (Wickham), Perdita Weeks (Lydia Bennet), Gemma Arterton (Elizabeth Bennet), Christina Cole (Caroline Bingley), Lindsay Duncan (Lady Catherine de Bourgh), Guy Henry (Mr. Collins), Michelle Duncan (Charlotte Lucas) & Tom Mison (Mr. Bingley)
A flight of fancy for the middle classes, Lost In Austen does for 19th-century costume drama what Life On Mars did for '70s cop shows. Jemima Rooper plays Amanda Price, a thoroughly-modern working girl obsessed by Jane Austen's classic "Pride & Prejudice" -- to such an extent that she regularly curls up on the sofa, avoiding her boorish boyfriend and dreaming of bonnets and breeches…Dream becomes reality when Amanda discovers the book's heroine, Elizabeth Bennet (Gemma Arterton), in her bathroom -- having arrived in the real-world through a hidden door in the wall. After venturing through the door herself, Amanda becomes trapped in the Bennet household of Austen's prose. Having performed an "exchange trip", patriarch Mr. Bennet (Hugh Bonneville) accepts Amanda as his absent daughter's best friend from Hammersmith.
As a keen Austenphile, Amanda adjust to the 19th-century lifestyle with relative ease, as she meets the book's main "characters" -- Mrs. Bennet (Alex Kingston) and the Bennet brood of single sisters. Cue amusing differences between the time-periods: Amanda insisting on "last minute lippy" before a posh party, showing off her "vaginal topiary" and realizing she hast to clean her teeth using twigs and powdered salt! She also excitedly notices she's chronologically at the beginning of the "Pride & Prejudice" storyline; yet to meet literary lothario Mr. Darcy (Elliot Cowan)…
It's classic fish-out-of-water stuff, although having Amanda know the book intimately somewhat undermines the difficulties she faces. But this is partly designed as wish fulfillment for the female demographic tuning in; those full of adoration for Austen's oeuvre and memories of Colin Firth in the '90s BBC adaptation. On that level, this is a treat for P&P anoraks and a unique approach to ordinarily stuffy costume drama.
Amanda's arrival inevitably creates problems, as her modern attitudes and slang elicit the attention of handsome Mr. Bingley (Tom Mison), who should actually be falling in love with Jane Bennet (Morven Christie) -- while later attracting the ire of Mrs. Bennet, who starts to believe Amanda's behaviour is distracting male attention away from her daughters. Bingley's sister Caroline (Christina Cole) is also less than impressed with the uncouth newcomer in the Bennet household.
It's all cheerful, light-hearted fun, nicely acted by Rooper and populated with strong actors who would fill out a straight-forward P&P adaptation extremely well. I particularly enjoyed Hugh Bonneville as Mr. Bennet (making amends for Bonekickers), Alex Kingston as his wife and Tom Mison as the slightly daffy Bingley. But there wasn't really a weak link anywhere, and any male viewers will soak up the effervescent beauty of Cole, Kingston, Christie and Arterton (about to swap bonnets for Bond in Quantum Of Solace.)
But there are a few kinks. Obviously, the mechanism of Amanda's transportation to Austen-land lacks the mystery that fuelled Life On Mars. It's clearly not time-travel and we can't attribute Amanda's experience to a bump on the head, or suchlike. It's simply magic. I'm fine with that, but it might have been more interesting if approached from a more ambiguous angle -- especially for viewers unfamiliar with the book and preferring to approach it as a time-travel fable.
Also, I couldn't help thinking the flipside of Lost In Austen's scenario would be more fun to watch: imagine Elizabeth Bennet living in London, 2008. Amanda has familiarity with a novel and history lessons to draw on, but what would a polite fictional character from a Jane Austen novel make of pub crawls, television, the internet, nightclubs, randy men, and fast cars? Lost In Austen is a four-part series, so maybe we'll get to find out in future weeks. Or is that the natural idea for an Enchanted-style sequel?
Overall, while unlikely to draw too much of a crowd beyond middle-class women who love period romances, there's still plenty to enjoy if you're curious. It's "time-travel" in a hazy Life On Mars style, well-performed by a very attractive cast. Familiarity with the novel help give it texture, but it's certainly not a barrier to being entertained by this charming slice of whimsy.
3 September 2008
ITV1, 9pm
