English Mythology (Becomes London Mythology)

First, let me just say that Jane Austen is English mythology, so, I mean, the legalists, sorry the historians, sorry the literary critics, don’t think that this is “accurate” (you don’t even want to know what angry aristocrat nerds are like—I’m telling you: you don’t), but basically: the character who talks to herself talking to you, who doesn’t notice you replying in nonsense Italian? My mother. 

So it’s accurate. 

I originally thought this was by Joe Wright—who’s kinda a sorta interesting literary adaption director, who did a P&P movie, and I searched Netflix for him and came up with this, and didn’t check the credits to make sure before I started watching. But it’s ok; I can do a Jane Austen trio instead of a specific director trio, since it’s by an unknown girl—so good (girl) but also bad (unknown). So anyway…. 

“There’s nothing worse than thinking you’ve ruined your life, and realizing you have much further to fall.” 

So, as I wrote before, (I’m actually editing now! So unlike me!) Jane is one of the most rational and calm-yet-comic writers, and with a decent literary director, it can be fun. It didn’t like, Change My Life, because I knew the book—it was just easy, but I liked that. But although it is easy to like Jane for what’s not there, even if it is there—there’s plenty of masked suffering of being around gendered English people, the feminine prick men and the hyper-feminine ill women, but at the same time, I think that, especially in a movie with its visual/physical intelligence, there’s a lot to just ~enjoy, without the whole, drop-dead-for-love thing. (As much as we’d all like to, women included, men included.) I don’t know; it’s like, just, they have this Nice House, and they visit Wonderful House: you accustom yourself to there being good things in the world, even if people tend to use those good things unwisely. Most stories have a romance plot, but in the King Arthur books—and I love Arthurian mythology; but in the Arthur books it’s like, tribal times; dead men drumming; and—yeah, I mean: anything that’s not abstract like poetry or music involves suffering, but in Nice House stories it’s like, ordinary suffering, and extraordinary wealth, whereas in an adventure it’s extraordinary suffering, the looming possibility of death, and the ever-present shadow of perversion and scandal, perhaps. And don’t get me wrong—sometimes people need to get a little fucking compassion about not ringing the village church bells and crying perversion, but…. I mean, it happens because of unusual unconsciousness, unusualness. Sometimes, all you need, is, either love, or, a story you already know from a longer telling, and just beauty—gardens, mansions…. And a heroine who is also a narrator. That’s nice. Good movie. 

Also, it’s funny: I knew this was 2022, but I thought it was Joe Wright, so (and I’m trying not to malign Joe here, although it’s funny it’s not—it’s like, Well, anyway) so I thought that the use of Black talent was a nice touch, in light of the “Pan” fiasco, you know. This movie is like, ‘You’re welcome to swing by my place anytime’; that movie was like: So we can spend more time together, I’m going to let you keep living in like 20% of your house. It’s still a nice touch, even if the cleaning up mistakes is less of a, personal, mea culpa? 

And, you know, certainly one (very) subtle (Jane-style subtle!) compliment doesn’t erase in people’s minds another very strongly implied unconscious disrespect, not in the world we live in, right—and by that, I don’t mean any particular group. But it’s a lot more human and open to Black people than Hollywood usually is, and even the rest of the world, as the occasional (numerous, though not by percentages) book or movie on how Black people have usually been treated will attest…. 

And just that a Black man could end up with a white woman who was the sister of the heroine and not the heroine: the shadow, the whiney little git with nothing on Whitney, you know. And that it’s in a fucking Jane Austen mythos, you know. 

And if anybody tells you that Anne Elliot looking directly at the screen doesn’t work…. I don’t know: have Them make a movie about Their life, lol. 

…. “It angers me that the world denies you the opportunity for a public life. You’d make a great admiral.” 

Hey Jude, don’t make it bad. (winks) 

…. You always forget that Jane was a Sagittarius, even though it fits like a glove. Jack too. You’d think with all that Pevensie crap that he was a Capricorn, but he wasn’t. That was just the time they lived in—it was before the revolution. 

It was a slow revolution, not like the French one, but…. 

…. I’m glad I watched this though, not only because it’s a great story, but because when I read it, in certain parts, I got more the themes than the plot, you know: like the advanced but not the simple, because it’s so intricate, sometimes it’s easier to see the trees than the forest the way it is in book-form…. 

…. “Joy—pardon me—I’m experiencing joy….” 

Now, if he had been looking at the camera: that would have been perfect. 

…. It’s like the drama of Black Athena and Psyche, that part of it…. 

But I’m with cousin Elliot: you can always romance the girl later…. Making sure you inherit the estate, cannot wait. (laughing cat emoji) 

…. This was the equal to any of the best Greta Gerwigs: whether “Lady Bird” or “Little Women”, this is of the same quality. 

…. Say not that England has no future.