An easily forgettable, watered-down version of "Emma", that couldn't hold a candle to its latest (2020) adaptation... Which is in a wholly different league. As someone already commented, they also tried to go the "Bridgerton" route, but the end result was indeed a poor imitation of its way sassier, glitzier source of inspiration.

Imitation of Jane Austen stories with "Bridgerton" (2020) style that is so choreographed and predictable as to be sketchy. There is so little mystery to the character of Mr. Malcolm that the romance feels flimsy and unconvincing. And it is so interested in being racially inclusive that it ends up punishing the only character who really defends her dignity as a woman.

Oh this move is one of those proper 18th century romance endings that I love. Also I really liked the revenge story being told throughout. Very Bridgerton esque.

The short, which you can watch on YouTube, is far superior.

I can't wait for them to make an American slave movie and have white slaves getting whipped right next to the black ones because of race blind casting.

I spent too much time thinking about the rules they were using to change society. It wasn't discussed and they acted like things were normal. It distracted from the believability of the movie.


Casting choices like this ignore the pain and trama that real people actually went through by pretending that such a thing doesn't even exist.


Also, I didn't think the black man was handsome enough to be the most eligible bachelor of the movie.
It added to making the movie feel too non-realistic to me.

My list for a good movie...

- Be unconventional
- Have some interesting plot twists
- Contain characters that don't pertain to stereotypes.

Mr. Malcolm's List... you failed!

Not a bad movie but an awfully familiar one.

This was perfectly fine, but I just don't think it worked. There wasn't the arch humour of Austen, nor the modern sexiness of Bridgerton...

utter tripe, not even to pass the time is it worth a watch

I love this movie wholeheartedly! There’s a genre of books that’s made for a certain type of people, the pocket novels/historic Romans or whatever you call them at home. This movie is a must see for those of you who love those books like I do. Never mind the comments here about cheesy stuff, the predictability or the “wannabe bridgerton” sneers. That’s not what this book or movie is about. It’s the simple love story, in historic setting with the standard plot, the standard characters and the predictable but oh so relatable twists. I’d admit reading the book is more fun: you simply don’t read it in under 2 hours. But it’s all you want of this book and therefore it’s all you want to see in this movie, down to every little cheeky detail you’d want to see when dreaming away with these classic women wanting for love.

So there you have it: can’t stand the genre? Stay away and don’t pretend to compare it to bridgerton or downton Abby, it’s a whole other world.

does this and the 2019 version have half of the same cast?

Such a genuinely funny and feel good movie. It's so entertaining and never drags that you don't really feel the time passing. Which is such a rarity nowadays. Yes, it's fairly predictable and full of period drama cliches, but that's why we love them. ;) Zawe absolutely KILLED it. Her performance and character definitely were the highlight for me. And could be the reason I'd rewatch it again.

Boring soap opera-style love story, with an out of time and place multi-ethnic cast.

I genuinely like this more than _Bridgerton_ and even _Sanditon_ season 2! And the casting is perfection.

I'm always shocked at how the introduction of non white actors in what we have been groomed to believe would only be played by white actors consistently results in a rating 2 to 4 points lower than a movie deserves. This is definitely the case here. We all have been so brainwashed to believe all 1800's time movies should be exclusively white gentle folk and God forbid we overcome decades of racist ignorance.

That being said, this is a charming movie, well acted and beautifully chosen staging. The locations are perfect. Yes, a moral story wrapped in a bit of the styling of the 1800's "soap opera" much like a shorter less scheming version of Thackeray's Vanity Fair. I felt it cut a little shorter than it would've been. The development of Julia's relationship far too short for her to recognize her own foolishness. Lady Malcolm's part too tiny, like too much landed on the cutting room floor. So I docked it a point for each.