To think that Jane Austen would be spinning in her grave...

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

If she could see 'no tits' Knightly playing Elizabeth Bennet?! And as for Matthew Mcfaddyan [sp] he just spends the entire film looking like he's had a bucket of water dumped over his head!

Yes I think Susannah Harker was miscast, not that she isn't an attractive woman (she is) but that she just didn't come across as a young, naive girl. She acted Jane's innocent niceness in a very strange way, came across as listless and plain. Christ knows, she was in early pregnancy so perhaps was trying to stop herself from being sick everywhere at that stage.

I watched it for 2 seconds. All the characters including KK were snotty and awful and so was the acting. Switched off.

Why did I not know that there is a version of Persuasion with Rupert Penry-Jones?

My favourite Austen hero is without a doubt Mr Knightley. 'Marry me, my wonderful, darling friend'

Exactly GetOrf (congratulations btw ).
Whereas Rosamund Pike was lovely.

Mr Knightley does nothing for me, he and Colonel Brandon are a bit too Daddy like to be sexy. Plus he must be a fool to want to marry the ultra irritating Emma.

You should watch the Penry Jones version of Persuasion, I really liked it. The actress who plays Anne is great.

The ITV Ru-Pen-Jobes version was better cast, but the Beeb Hinds one is a better adaption. Persuasion is my all time favourite book, read it every year and still gets me teary when I read the letter scene. "You pierce my soul"- oh dear lord! [fans face]

Also fancied the pants off David Morrissey in the latest S&S adaption. Not an Austen adaption, but do any of you lot remember the North & South series that was on a few years ago? Richard Armitage.....phew.

I loved North & South! He was all grim and chippy and Northern and bloody gorgeous. Seem to remember he had a pesky mother who always hanging around though.

I was confused as our North and South is about the Civil War and has Patrick Swayze. :)

Yours is streaming on Netflix, I shall watch it!

I remember watching the Civil war North and South as a kid! I was horrified because iirc it showed a poor slave being branded in it.

Austen + Penry Jones ?? How have I missed this ??

Possibly worst Austen Film Casting for me was Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma. I thought that outrage had been cast from my brain but this thread has resurrected it. Ghastly, with the added travesty of Toni Collette as Harriet Smith. I love toni collette but she is hardly a ravishing beauty, is she ?

North and South used to be on on Saturday evenings. It had a great theme tune and there were lots of heaving bosoms and double crossing brothers.

I'm going to watch it again and see if it's as dramatic as I remember.

If we're talking about worst Austen casting ever surely we have to mention Billie Piper as Fanny Price. WTF was all that about eh?

Oh yes Billie Piper, her teeth and eyebrows were just so distracting. And her hair. And her accent. And everything else really.

Was Harriet Smith meant to be a ravishing beauty?

I actually liked both Gwyneth and Toni in 'Emma'.

Gwynnie suited the role of a pampered, spoilt, ignorant little madam imo.

yy - I agree about Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma, I thought she was very good - and her accent was perfect. I didn't think Harriet Smith was supposed to be a ravishing beauty either, just quite pretty - which Toni Collette is.

Gwynie was v v good.

I thought Gwynneth was very good, only thing which grated was that I coyldnt see Emma as a blonde at all, in my mind she was always dark.

Yes god knows what happened with Billie Piper, she is a good looking girl but was terribly styled ad woefully miscast as Fanny. I can't stand mansfield Park however so not the best person to judge!

Iirc Harriet Smith is meant to have no money but bev beautiful- her one ticket to a better life.

I liked the film, thought it was better than the BBC version (which IMO was too caricatured and tongue-in-cheek, and the main actresses were just too old or looked wrong for their roles), and I liked the muddy hems etc.

I also like Keira Knightley. A lot. She is beautiful, and I think people are too harsh about her acting. I think maybe she was given some roles that were too big/too much for her early in her career. But she was wonderful in The Edge of Love and (especially) Never Let Me Go.

I do think a lot of people are jealous because she's slim and beautiful. I hate the way it's apparently acceptable to insult a woman for being thin (whereas if she was fat the same people would probably be praising her for being 'real' and a good role model ).

CheerfulYank, you have to see it! .

I've no problem with Keira Knightley's looks, there's certainly no denying she's a beautiful girl. But then, most film actresses are beautiful, they're not exactly throwing parts at the plain girls. So I don't agree that people are jealous of her but I do think people wonder why an actress with quite a limited range lands all the plum roles. I do agree that comments on her skinniness and flat chest are unnecessary.

I think it is to the film's credit that they didn't make KK look more busty.

Thinking about it my favoutite Emma Woodhouse is Alicia Silverstone in Clueless.

Also the 'if she was fat the same people would probably be praising her for being 'real' and a good role model' doesn't really hold any water because if she was in any way plump, never mind fat, there's no way she'd be a film star.

I really really don't dislike KK because she's thin. I dislike her acting.

Ooh! I would usually agree re KK's acting, she's not the best, but saw The Edge of Love last night and her Welsh accent was spot on. (mind you my standard to judge by is Torchwood...)

It was much better than Sienna Miller's Irish accent which came and went at odd times. When she did it, it was good, but the timing was very random.