User reviews

I've really enjoyed that adaptation. It's witty, charming and the necessary changes brought to the book narrative are clever and do not jar too much with the original. It made me reread the book, which I think should always be the effect of a good adaptation.

The actor playing Henry Tilney was charming (maybe more than the book Henry Tilney in fact) and all the others seemed to fit their roles. Carey Mulligan makes a very effective Isabella Thorpe and plays her part with subtlety while Felicity Jones looks just naive enough for the role of Catherine. I was only bothered by the choice of William Beck of Robin Hood to play John Thorpe. His physical appearance simply did not seem to fit the character. He is a very good actor but hardly attractive enough to make a valid love-interest for romantic Catherine.

The only reason I do not give it "10" is because of the absurd over-sexualisation of Catherine's dreams or the lending to her of "The Monk" by Thorpe.

This is taking incredible liberties with the historical period in order to "make it relevant" to 21st century viewers which TV film-makers must assume to be incapable of viewing anything with interest if it does not contain overtly sexual contents, though the contrary has been proved again and again.

Huzzah! - another adaptation: for Austen fans there can never be enough. Still…I gulped a little when I heard that ITV were doing a Jane Austen season. ITV tend to drastically abridge their period dramas, and they can end up slightly cheap-looking, losing integrity when contrasted with the more solid and sober (and timeless?) productions of the BBC.

Northanger Abbey was Austen's first proper novel, but her last to be published; very much a turn of the (19th) century novel, showing some of the roughness of that time, before ladies became entirely encased in the strict rules society saw fit to impose. It's fitting that a cheeky, confident and funny writer (Andrew Davies) gets to have a bit of fun with this one some 200 years later. In it, Catherine Morland, a young, naïve girl from a quiet village, gets her first taste of many things on a trip to Bath, and learns both life lessons and something about love through her contact with two very different families she meets there; the grasping, manipulative Thorpes and the thoughtful and sophisticated Tilneys.

The two leads, Felicity Jones as Catherine Morland, and J J Field as Henry Tilney, are beautifully cast. Felicity Jones' youth, pretty looks and inexperience served her character very well. Her 'modern' tone has been criticised, but whilst an older actress might have delivered the lines with greater accuracy, we'd have lost Jones' juvenile wonder and humour. She delivered (almost all) her lines nicely, and although at moments she looked almost simple, staring up blankly with her mouth open, in a way this was appropriate. Nothing in Catherine Morland's previous limited experience prepared her for the life of Bath or for a family like the Tilneys – she may well gape. I loved the dream sequences where her constant absorption in Gothic horrors spills over into her imagination: her reading was teaching her to look for horror everywhere.

J J Field was wonderful in the BBC's recent adaptation of Philip Pullman's excellent "The Ruby in the Smoke", and shows again that he can play the leading man with great charm and naturalistic ease - a long career in the making I think. Re-reading the book I'm struck by the affectionate details with which Austen made Henry Tilney lovable, such as his messy rooms and his keen sense of humour. I think Field goes a long way towards putting this on screen, despite shockingly ill-fitting clothes and a script very constrained for time, missing dialogue which would have drawn out his growing attachment to Catherine. Austen has Henry tell Catherine that she "is superior in good nature to all the world". In this version her youth and looks alone seem to be the reason for her appeal.

The minor characters were mostly well-played and well drawn; especially Eleanor Tilney, who brought great dignity to her role. Some concessions have certainly been made to an audience deemed incapable of reading subtlety or of tolerating lengthy or literary dialogue. But certain additions were really funny and delightful: Catherine rolling her eyes and curling her lip at Captain Tilney's rudeness; her little sister announcing, hand on hips and with a nice swing of her little head; "CATHY. Mama says will you bring Mr Tilney to the DRAWING room." Her withering glare at Henry when they are all seated, in awkward silence, is genius: go girl.

Adaptations don't need to be slavish. The BBC's rather lurid 1986 version took just as many liberties, and more than warranted a revisit. Overall I found this a delightful adaptation, delivered with verve and spirit, so well done ITV, please, more of this, less of the abridged and dumbed-down rubbish!

Having suffered through Persuasion and Mansfield Park I was expecting very little from this production, particularly as the tongue-in-cheek humour in the novel is missed by so many readers. However, Andrew Davies pulled it off (again) mainly by introducing some over-the-top Gothic scenes into the narrative, which helped to set the tone, and padding out some of the minor characters - particularly Thorpe, who was truly repulsive. JJ Field was an amazingly attractive Tilney with his gentle mocking of Catherine and his twinkly eyes. Felicity Jones carried Catherine's wide-eyed innocence and trusting naivety off a treat and I really felt her distress at upsetting Tilney - a nice twist by Andrew Davies which would have made JA proud.

It is a real art if the director together with actors are able to father a agreeable show based on a trivial story. In the middle of the movie, we realize the half of the time is gone, but nothing still happened. The team was able to create the tension so appealing that we are absorbed, even without any grandiose plot and without any impassioned actions. The second half of the movie is filled by actions more moving, obviously very well known due to its literal master. There is a touch of misfortune, a typical British frightening countryside serves as a suitable background. All necessary components for a romantic novel are present. As an interpreting of J. Austen, the movie plays with many internal thoughts belonging to people within a romantic tradition of the end of 18th century. It seems these conversational games can last forever, never mind what's going on anywhere else. Evident, but quite pleasant case of escapism. The whole movie is a nice adventure, but with a touch of honesty, it is also a bit waste of time.

This adaptation of Northanger Abbey has gone a long way to redeeming ITV's Jane Austen Season after a severely poor start with Mansfield Park starring Billie Piper. Where as Mansfield Park was dull and lifeless, Northanger Abbey was lively and highly amusing. It was actually funny, and kept well to the spirit of the book. Newcomer Felicity Jones was brilliant as Catherine Morland, so too was JJ Field as Henry Tilney and Catherine Walker as Eleanor Tilney. In fact the whole cast did a great job of entertaining throughout. The script was brilliant, and you felt that Andrew Davies was really enjoying himself when adapting Austen's novel. When I see Davies' name attached to a period drama I feel safe that it will be done competently and in good taste, and Northanger Abbey was. My only criticism, which isn't so much a criticism more of my wanting it to continue, is that the ending was cut a little short. Of course this was due to time restraints. This is ITV's best period drama for a very long time. Not since Emma have they done one so good. This is certainly one I would recommend to both Austen enthusiasts and newcomers alike, it truly is accessible to all, and can be enjoyed by many!

Northanger Abbey is not just one of my favourite Jane Austen books, but also one of my favourite books full stop. So, when hearing of an ITV adaption, I was in equal parts excited and nervous.

Well, after seeing it I can only praise it. The cast performed extremely well - especially JJ Field as the charming and likable Henry Tilney, and Felicity Jones as the naive and excitable Catherine Morland - the direction was top class, and the narrative - though not always faithful to the book - was pretty much faultless.

Some people may be disappointed in the less-faithful parts of the feature, but I felt that they fit in very well with Ms. Austen's novel. They were charming and felt very up-to-date in a way that would appeal to both Jane Austen lover's, and people who just wanted to watch a good film on Sunday night.

If you haven't seen this, then I highly recommend it, and I know that I certainly will be buying the DVD.

After almost despairing at the recent Mansfield Park with Billie Piper, it was a huge relief to see this version of Northanger Abbey. Andrew Davies is pretty reliable, I think, and the two leading characters were winningly portrayed by Felicity Jones and J J Feild.

The locations, costumes and hairstyles were all good too. It was a thoroughly entertaining piece.

Of course, reducing the book to not much more than 90 minutes means that a lot has to be sacrificed. In the case of Jane Austen this is done at a higher price than with many other authors, since a key feature of her works is their gentle pace and unhurried witty dialogue - but it was good nonetheless and can be thoroughly recommended.

NORTHANGER ABBEY is a charming version of the Jane Austen tale, covering somewhat familiar Austen territory in its tale of a young woman who comes to a vast estate and falls in love with an aristocratic young man who is willing to give up his inheritance to marry her, if he must.

It's beautifully lensed in color with excellent vistas of the English countryside and some impeccable performances from a first rate cast. FELICITY JONES and JJ FIELD are excellent as the young lovers, whether exchanging dialog that is on the humorous side or deadly serious, and CATHERINE WALKER is fine as Jones' confidante, Eleanor.

Time constraints make it impossible to ever do full justice to Austen's stories, but fans of the author should find this an enchanting enough version of the tale to satisfy Janite admirers, even if there are many omissions in the telling.

Very worthwhile, with high quality production values throughout.

I was lucky enough to be in the UK the evening this aired on ITV. My British friend and I both sat up to watch and we were both satisfied. Between the two of us, I'm the "Janeite" but she truly enjoyed this adaptation as well. It's important to remember that Jane Austen's books will always outshine the movie adaptations. It's impossible to do full justice to her writing. Northanger Abbey has always been a secret favorite - I realize it's not as "serious" as the other 5 books, but I must admit I've got a real fondness for Henry Tilney. JJ Field fills the role perfectly and stands out as the star in my opinion. Felicity Jones is also very good as Catherine. The supporting actors are exceptional - and I agree with others that it's a shame we don't see more of William Beck as John Thorpe, absolutely brilliant casting! I'm looking forward to all three adaptations coming to the states - and I'd encourage anyone to try this version of Northanger Abbey out!

I've watched the film twice now and I have to say, I think this is a very lightweight version of Austen, There is nothing terribly bad about it, but nothing that great either. The one exception I would make is Carey Mulligan's Isabella Thorpe. She is very good as the manipulative and venal Isabella. But she also has a tinge of the pathetic about her. She seems to be a person who is determined to make the wrong decisions. As always in Davies adaptations, it is the 'villains' who are more interesting, but not even Andrew Davies and Mulligan can make John and Isabella Thorpe more than simply manipulative and venal. Felicity Jones is suitably innocent as Catherine, Fields is kind and understanding as Henry. The great Liam Cunningham is criminally wasted as Gen Tilney though. Everyone else is very nice and the costumes are lovely. Lismore Castle makes for a suitably large and intimidating Abbey and Dublin makes for a great 19th Century Bath.

In conclusion it's all very nice and pretty, (a kiss of death IMO) . The biggest gripe apart from the lack of any real tension and conflict in the plot would be Davies obligatory insertion of sexual misbehavior that is just so unlike Austen's novel. The Gothic elements introduced by Catherine's vivid dreams seem to have been heavily inspired by the 1987 version. I could be wrong about that, perhaps every adaptation has these boring dream sequences.

All in all, not my favourite Austen. You should never be bored by Austen.

The cast is well chosen and does what it can with a weak adaptation. "Northanger Abbey", though delightful, is one Austen's least adaptable novels because much of the action is inside the heroine's head. The book is about how Catherine's romantism is always being thwarted by mundane reality. This adaptation tries to remedy the issue by staging the heroine's fantasty sequence. It's a good choice but the film doesn't stick with it. Instead when the action shifts to Northanger Abbey itself, the film tries to pretend that the Austen material is actual gothic romance rather than a sly parody of it. The whole comic logic of Austen's tale thus falls apart. The lush green locations that were shot in Ireland are breathtakingly beautiful but they also confuse the adaptation by being too romantic for a story about the shortcomings of romanticism. Still, the choice and direction of actors here is good. Costumes are beautifully done and nicely restrained. It's not a silly adaptation of Austen like the recent "Emma" but that in itself is not enough of a reason to recommend it.

loved this movie! J Field and felicity Jones did an awesome job and have brought back romance to a movie..clean and tastefully done. henry's character was witty and you can't help being drawn to him and Catherine's character is complete innocence...unfortunately for me, i watched it too many times,,thank you for such a romantic, witty, and innocent movie..look forward to seeing more work by these actors, although in Canada we don't seem to get as much as i would like..good luck to these very talented actors. i would have loved to see more of the countryside of the movie, apparently it was filmed in ireland,would have loved to see more od the beautiful buildings such as woodston.

NA is one Austin story that I was yet unfamiliar with before seeing this movie adaptation, so I make no comparison or judgments in that regard. Surprisingly, I did not realize this movie existed until scrolling through the Amazon PBS channel I subscribed to looking for a nice period piece to watch. Bonus that it stars a young Felicity Jones, as well as the wonderful Carey Mulligan.

NA is certainly not one of Austin's most famous or popular works. Maybe there is a reason for that, but again not sure. Regardless, this movie adaptation starts out quite well. The acting is smart and the dialogue witty and Austen-like. The main difference from other Austen works is the emphasis on the Gothic, which the story seems to satirize with occasional dream sequences by our young heroine played by Jones.

The story itself gradually evolves from the casual social politicking often found in Austen to something more Gothic in nature...let's say a very mild "Eyre" type plot.

Overall, the movie is entertaining but rather slight. Not sure how deep the source material is here, but though the acting was great the characterizations needed more depth and attention. The ending is really a blip with little emotional impact.

I would have liked more emphasis on earlier portions dealing with Bath as the characters get to know one another and all the social intrigue builds up, even if that means diverging or expanding on what the source provides. In other words, NA might be better served by a longer adaption or series.

Decent TV movie adaptation of one of Austen's lesser-known works, which I didn't know as well as her more famous novels, but ended up quite liking. The main character is the naive heroine Catherine, who's sent to spend some time in Bath with family friends and has a vivid imagination fueled by her love of gothic novels. In Bath, she meets an interesting guy, Mr. Tilney, with a rather mysterious past, and befriends her brother's fiancée, the not-so-sincere Isabella, who's on the hunt for a good marriage.

Complications and misunderstandings ensue, involving Isabella's brother and Mr. Tilney's father.

A very young Felicity Jones and Carey Mulligan play Catherine and Isabella, respectively, though I would have preferred them in reverse roles. Still, they manage to do a good job.

This is a really lovely TV/film version of this book, and of course... the script is by master adapter Andrew Davies. He is just magnificent. Carey Mulligen (Bleak House, The Amazing Mrs. Prichard) is a young actress who really understands period drama, and can bring her full self to it without seeming modern. She is excellently cast as the "bad" friend of the lead.

Catherine Walker gives us an excellent interpretation of the "good" friend, and JJ Field gives us the most charming Henry Tilney. He is handsome and smart and fun and good. (The stuff of a girl's dreams, as he is supposed to be.)

Despite the short running time length, everything is here that needs to be here, and the costumes in this are gloriously beautiful, and tell us a lot about the character. We have only to look at the neckline of Isabella & Eleanor's dresses to know all we need to know about them.

Felicity Jones as our lead Catherine is just perfect... all the right notes. I did enjoy the version done in the 1980s?... even though the fantasy sections were very modern pop-punk with music by "art of noise." It worked... but this current one will be much more enjoyed by the purists. ENJOY this masterful adaptation!

Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) is one of ten children in a middle class family. She is a girl with an imagination for Gothic romances. She journeys to Bath with wealthy family friends, the Allens. She falls for Henry Tilney but he's gone the next day. She is befriended by social butterfly Isabella Thorpe (Carey Mulligan) who likes her older brother James. Isabella's brother and James' friend John is taken with Catherine. Henry returns with his sister Eleanor who invites her to a walk. James lies to her about the Tilneys and sweeps her off on his carriage. She catches James on his lie but he warns her about the Tilney family. She patches up with Henry and then his older brother Captain Frederick Tilney is taken with her. Her imagination and constant rumors lead to her belief that Henry's father was responsible for the mother's death.

This Jane Austen work is enlivened by two rising superstars. It's Austen's first published work turning the Gothic romance upside down. If anything, Felicity Jones is too much of a starlet to be plain Catherine Morland. Carey Mulligan's superior light compensates for some of it. It's a simple story and a nice watch even for non-costume fans.

Having just read the book I thought it would be a good idea to see if there had been made any TV adaptations of the book. Finding that there had indeed I decided to watch it. And too be honest it turned out to be quite a disappointment. I think my disappointment was mostly due to the fact that I had had just read the book and was actually able to remember the story and therefore being able to see that this adaptation didn't have much to do with it. The general is being described as a coldblooded vampire and the story is being overdramatized, not at all in the spirit of Jane Austen. The acting is however descent and some of the roles have been well casted.

I found the book a lot more entertaining and it being so short i found it very strange that they should choose to alter so much.