Joyfully Retired

Amanda Price is a modern young woman living a not-too-happy life in London. To escape she reads her beloved Jane Austen novels. She has a boyfriend but he’s not very couth. She longs for the smoldering, romantic Mr. Darcy.

One day another young woman walks through the wall of her bathroom. It’s Elizabeth Bennet who is looking for a quiet place. Of course, Amanda knows who she is and, on a whim, walks through the opening in the wall back into the Bennet household.

Amanda finds herself at the beginning of the Pride and Prejudice story which, at first, is thrilling for her. But in reality she finds herself in the middle of the plot. And then things don’t go exactly like the plot of the book. For instance, Mr. Bingley (played perfectly by Tom Mison) initially falls in love with Amanda, not Jane. There are other things that happen that start to concern Amanda. She’s afraid she has ruined a story loved by millions.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. The scenes, the photography, the costumes, even the lighting was well done. Jemima Rooper played Amanda just like you’d expect a 21st century woman to behave in Jane Austen’s world. The rest of the cast was also quite good. I especially liked the portrayal of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in this film over the other films I’ve seen. They were much more believable. Mr. Darcy, Mr. Wickam and Jane were all played well.

I recommend this movie for someone who has read and loved Jane Austen’s novel or at least Pride and Prejudice. There are lots of little subtle jokes that you won’t get otherwise. I saw this on dvd which included some special features. Part of the special features was an additional 45 minute program on the making of the movie. It was great to see how they used the mansions, did the costumes, make-up, hair, and actually filmed various scenes.

I watched this film as part of my Everything Austin Challenge. This is a great addition to that challenge.

The Lost in Austen DVD is available at Amazon