Atonement & Persuasion

Masterpiece Theater is running a series of movies based on Jane Austen novels. In fact they are doing all 6 Jane Austen novels and a dramatization of her life. I'm kind of excited about this and it started tonight. The first movie they showed was Persuasion. This movie is about a 27 year old spinster who had to turn down her one chance at marriage when she was 19. By a strange twist of fate, the man that she had to turn down and the man she still loves comes back into her life. I found it interesting that 27 was considered too old for marriage and the large amount of cousins marrying each other. One suave guy asked the main character (and his cousin) to marry her by saying: "Anne Elliot. I think you should keep that name." You see because they were cousins and they shared last names, so hers wouldn't change. Yeah, gross. She didn't end up with her cousin.

It was pretty good, but the highlight for the movie was the best description of being in love I have ever heard. "I am half agony and half hope."

Today I also went to see Atonement. I have little doubt that Atonement will be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but the movie didn't do that much for me. It did for awhile. The beginning was great and then it slowed down and got less interesting. However, it was the surprise ending that completely ruined it for me. I can't give away the ending because I don't want to ruin the ending for anybody out there, but I take great umbrage with the belief that sacrificing truth was the proper way to end this story. I am a great believer in truth and believe that it is the most important thing in the world, so I don't believe in the good intentioned lie that this movie endorses. That is also why I hate the movie Amelie and believe that the main problem with it is that the main character is evil and never gets a just punishment for the lies and deceit she spreads.

It is my belief that Film School has more or less been canceled. Jay has yet to confirm this fact, but I think it is safe to presume that it is so. So I'll go back to writing brief movie reviews this way. However, they will be very brief. Thursday I'm going to see The Kite Runner with Teresa. 14 days from today it will be time for Rambo. I believe that already 6 people have signed up for this viewing. That number just might grow.