Mr. Malcolm's List

'' Mr. Malcolm's List '' is a period romantic drama.

The movie has a fun story, based on a novel with the same title, and the whole story brings in mind Jane Austen vibes.

In addition, the characters were fun and feisty and their chemistry was strong and enjoyable. The performances by every actor and actress in the cast, which were all enjoyable, aided to the success of the movie.

And yes the casting is unrealistic for a period drama, but, as the performances were strong and the settings and costumes spot on, so it can be easily overlooked.

Finally, the movie did a good job presenting the story.

Surely there are important, authentic, diverse stories that should be told, based on literature and history of the non-Western world.

Shouldn't those films be made?

The new thing of re-doing English period pieces with woke casting is a waste of opportunity and resources. These films and shows are like fake reality shows., though Mr. Malcolm's List is better than Bridgerton aka Gossip Girls in costume.

The set-up of the movie is tiresome. Among other things, Zawe Ashton and Freida Pinto are old for these period piece characters, Ashton's character is mostly unpleasant.

How this movie has an average of 5.3 but the disgracefully botched 2022 version of Persuasion, a 5.6, is beyond me. Yes, Mr. Malcolm's List is Austen-esque and predictable, but at least the script captured the zeitgeist of the early 1800s. Its preview (which is on YouTube) actually came out early 2019, so I'm guessing Bridgerton took a leaf out of their book in regard to a diverse cast.

The two leads don't have much chemistry but the cast in general is excellent. I particularly enjoyed Oliver Jackson-Cohen's Lord Cassidy and although Julia Thistlewaite's character is downright unpleasant, Zawe Ashton embodied her brilliantly. I'm glad she replaced Gemma Chan, whose performance in the preview I thought a bit spiritless.

All in all, not an arthouse film experience but definitely worth the watch if you're into period pieces. I watched it for the second time today and didn't enjoy it any less than I did the first time.

If you are looking for a good watch, look elsewhere. The best I can say is that it isn't as bad as Netflix's Persuasion. The cast is good but the characters are bland.

I can't believe how mean some of the reviews are. My husband and I just finished it and had a great laugh, good acting and yes a predictable storyline but it was fun.

With so many other movies leaving you feeling sad, anxious or instilling fear it was a delight to end the night with a laugh.

We find it hard to find movies we can both sit through with our different tastes. We both enjoyed and would recommend for those looking for some light fun.

I don't understand why a review needs to have 600 words. I could say the costumes were cheap and the paper looked too modern, the casting was diverse and ... yeah minimum word count reached! Haha enjoy.