I am utterly impressed by Andrew Davies' "Sanditon". Yes by his Sanditon and not Jane Austen's, because this version is so very much "male" that can't get more.
If you've ever been 20 and in love, if you were head over heels, if you thought that was it, your life would end without that particular "love" object who made the sun rise and set - then you will know that this "Sanditon" film is very real. So real that it even hurts sometimes. It hurts because you realise life is tough. Life is very materialistic and brutal. Even sweet and loving eyes can be deceitful and when you are young, you are so vulnerable, you don't even know it. You think you've got it, you can control your feelings towards a person, but you just cannot. I don't know if it is hormonal or biochemical stuff, whatever and however you call it - it is something that lots of us have experienced, I am sure. It is something I wouldn't wish my children to experience and get hurt.
I've never been Jane Austen's superfan or something. I've only read her "Pride and Prejudice" and it tortured me to pieces, I must confess. It might have been my ignorance in "high" English language or because I am your regular post soviet proletariat daughter, Jewish-Irish Mohican and all that, so I just couldn't wrap my mind about the different social classes and their snobbism. It took me years to become friends with Elizabeth Bennet and Mister Darcy. Oh that grumpy Mr. Darcy!
Theo James as Sidney Parker and Rose Williams as Charlotte Heywood
Now on a more serious note: what made "Sanditon" so interesting to me: English accent, music, time period, very attractive and beautiful actors: Rose Williams plays so well that innocent and naive, at the same time courageous and clever Ms Heywood, that you just love her. And because she reminded me of myself, let's be honest. That's who I was when I was 20 - little Miss Heywood with big dreams, enthusiasm and no interest in marriage at all, indeed. I thought I could just conquer the world with my intelligence and kind smile. I thought the world needed me so bad it would just collapse without me, as well as every Mr. Darcy or Sidney Parker would just give a fortune to know a girl like me.
What a very young (and naive) clever woman, who's read tons of books, really seeks from men is understanding and compassion. She believes that her kindness will win and justice will rejoice, but it is not always the case, and maybe, maybe it's even for the good.
For example, let's take a look at Sidney Parker (and as one person mentioned, if not played by very good looking Theo James, maybe we would've not cared much about that character at all):
he's handsome, mysterious, grumpy (well, some ladies die for grumpiness), kindhearted, supposedly good businessman and a noble guy (which I don't quite believe), BUT he's too harsh on Charlotte, he yells at her, he loses his temper many times, he's got no shame when Charlotte sees him naked in the sea, he's being bitter and often bossy. Perhaps 20 year old girl would fall in love with such a guy, would even shed many tears after losing him too, but in 10-15 years, she would be very grateful, that God actually spared her from such an arrogant and unpleasant guy.
I am not going to spoil the rest of the film for you, since it hasn't been released in many countries yet. All I can say, although this is not Jane Austen version at all, the director and script writer (I guess it's the same person) has got it really really right. The story is very believable, very realistic, characters are spot on - emotional, fun, crazy, immoral (which sadly fits our society today), broken, and still - likable, because who are we to judge unless we've been in their exact shoes.
8/10 - I could've given less, but there are some really good lines in it, which I will probably always remember, like that one I used for the title.
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