Sanditon

“Sanditon” is sexy escapism for winter, tart and political, gorgeous and honest. Austen would have loved it.

On the whole, though, the series does nothing to scare the horses, and is as comforting as a mug of cocoa.

A delight, as it blends the costume drama conventions we’ve come to know and love with bracingly contemporary elements.

It doesn’t click entirely with Austen’s vision — comic ironic wit and misunderstanding that inevitably lead to lessons learned, love found, and marriage vows spoken — and it may well trigger Austen loyalists. But without the Austen connection — it’s a reasonably absorbing and pretty story that will ring all the pleasure bells for “Masterpiece” diehards.

The final-season plates are spinning. It’s by no means the subtlest screen adaptation of Austen (and remember this is nine parts Davies to one part Austen) but it’s fully grown into its own thing.

Every box is ticked off to great satisfaction or dull predictability depending on where you stand on the period drama tolerance scale.

As Charlotte, Williams lacks sincerity, often lapsing into period drama caricature, all quivering mouth and shining, eager eyes. In fact, most of the performances here feel cliched and devoid of any nuance – not helped by the rather on-the-nose script.

I have found season 2 incredible. The writing, the actors the music. Everything spot on.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

Sanditon is a simpler, dumbed-down version of Pride and Prejudice 2005 - characters are a bit more shallow, story arcs are a bit more obvious, schemes a bit more crude and as a result it doesn't watch so seamlessly as Pride and Prejudice did. Also I'm complaining about needless, ham-fisted politicization of the show that breaks immersion into a period drama - best example is perhaps the main protagonist Rose Williams - while very pleasant to look upon and believable enough, she gets to play a Mary Sue: as the whole Sanditon changes around her, she herself has no journey and remains untouched by events, judging all other period characters from afar with her contemporary, flawless 2020 ethics. Nevertheless I did like the cinematography and production value of the show (production sure made a lot of effort to show the best possible imagery of English coast, and they did so quite well) so as a result I give it well earned 6/10.

I did find sanditon to be enjoyable in many ways and lacking in others. Sanditon was the last novel written by Jane Austen, for those who don't know, before her death. And of course because of her death therefore it was unfinished and they had to take some creative liberties with it. Some of those creative liberties I do not mind but others were obvious choices made by a modern writer who does not respect the time period of Austen. Chief among them was the choice of lead actress Rose Williams for the character of Charlotte Heywood, a young woman who visits the seaside town that sets up the story. Rose Williams' chubby, hair brained, and bubbly peasantry like beauty does not fit alongside high society that she is mingling with. She does not fit in the world of Jane Austen, not even a country girl would be seen with her loose and flowing rat's nest hair. Especially if she were the daughter of a English gentleman, women took extreme care with how they dressed their hair. She wouldn't be allowed to attend the ball if she was seen with that kind of wild unkept hair. Whoever cast Rose Williams made a serious mistake! I do not believe a sophisticated gorgeous man such as Sydney Parker who is played by Theo James, would ever feel genuine affection for her character Charlotte Heywood. I may be the only critic to say they do not compliment each other physically. They do not make a cute couple, they have absolutely no sexual chemistry between them, no emotional chemistry. Quite frankly Sidney Parker comes across as a sophisticated hardened man of the world and Charlotte Heywood is just a bubbly teenager on vacation. I wish they would have chosen someone like Felicity Jones, Felicity Jones has the beauty and maturity look to play compatibility with Theo James. To that end, I think I can understand why Theo James decided to depart the show at the end of season 1, thereby changing the romance of the lead characters Charlotte and Sydney into a heart breaking ending. Theo James likely felt, just as I did, the lack of sexual chemistry between him and the lead actress and he probably wasn't behind the idea of having to make love so to speak with a woman so far below his League. Critics who seethe about the sexualizing of Jane Austen's work are not wrong in their criticisms. There is a bit too much modernity, and the g a y agenda does make an appearance. Jane Austen didn't want to sexualize women or propagandize h o m o sexuality, and that has no place in Jane Austen's work. If you are a pure Jane Austen fan, I would say don't watch the show. If you want an entertaining show, sanditon is entertaining. Season 2 was difficult for me. Rose Williams comes back as this emotionless, contrividly haunted and mature woman is obviously forced. Rose Williams is not putting her heart into this. She needs to go back to acting school, she can't act. Season 2 was difficult for me. The departure of Sidney Parker brings two new love interests for Charlotte Haywood, in a Sense and sensibility revival plot twist. Mr Colburne, a brooding widower, is played by Ben Lloyd-Hughes and charmingly roguish Colonel Lennox is Tom Jones. But just as with Sense and sensibility, I found the emotional tension in the older, brooding Mr Colburne to be lacking. I preferred Colonel Lennox, he was more attractive and he sparked interest every time he was in front of the camera. Ben Lloyd Hughes does not. All that being said, I will still finish the series. It's entertaining. The irony is I don't have any attachment to the main characters and I will likely skip through their plot.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]