Posted by Kathy F. on June 16, 1997 at 19:18:09:
In reply to Re: What does Mr. Knightley say?-"Objective" view for jj & sarah2 posted by Archer on June 16, 1997 at 14:44:39
] ] As Kali would say alternative realities. Mr. Knightley is supposed to have a cheerful manner which always did him good. He is kindness personified(as Miss Bates would say, upon my honour) and great natural grace. There are not "one and a hundred with gentleman so plainly written."
] ] And as for JN being too charming to be Mr. Knightley.."Being charming is not quite enough to induce (a person) to marry. One "must find other people charming-one other person at least."
] ______
] Thank you for restoring my faith with actual evidence from JA herself. After I saw Mark Strong's portrayal of Mr. Knightley (which I couldn't stand--he was such a stiff) I had to search through my copy of the book for well over an hour with trembling hands just to reassure myself that Mr. Knightley was supposed to be somewhat desirable. (And I was able to find quite a bit of evidence).__
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I thought MS very desirable! (As for "stiff"--I saw once where he said that the clothes were cut in such a way that everyone had his shoulders back, and that's why in those old portraits we see that everyone looks stiff and starched.) I think that with any 2-3 hour version of Emma, the people in charge will leave out some certain developmental characteristics. The scenes which would have shown Mr. Knightley more "cheerful" were not necessarily applicable to the development of the Emma3 storyline. Emma2 made him more cheerful, at the expense (due to time, I hope) of the Jane/Frank story-line, etc. Most of Mr. Knightley's (Emma3) scenes are when he is grave because he's gravely concerned about Emma, or other people he cares about. But I will say there is one cheerful (pre-engagement) scene, and that is when he is playing with his nephews when they come down for Christmas.
Perhaps the mood seems darker to the observer because there was less light than in most movies, including Emma2. Many of the scenes were filmed indoors, and fit my idea of what the nights were like in those times--light from fireplaces, candles, and lanterns. But it did make it seem dark.
Kathy