Lorna Doone (2001)

It is a performances centric movie

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Lorna Doone still reads well. Yes, it is very much a product of the era it was written in, but the story still works well - the central romance beset by the problem of Lorna's situation within the Doones, enhanced by the texturing of the main plot interlacing with the many subplots.But if you read it, you get a very strong picture of John Ridd as the archetypical gentle giant. With all due respect to Richard Coyle, he doesn't have the physical presence I expect from John Ridd. This piece of central casting is then compounded further by the casting of Aiden Gillen as Carver Doone. Carver Doone is big and dark, in every sense of both words. Gillen is effete and peevish. Evil, certainly, but without ever making me think he was physically Carver. Both men act well, albeit Carver should be more brooding and less hissy: I suspect that this is direction, though.The child actors playing young John and young Lorna aren't very good. America turns up fabulous child actors all over the place, England can't find them anywhere.The rest of the cast is fine: Amelia Warner as Lorna is gorgeous and does the best she can with a character which is underwritten in the novel, and Martin Clunes is a surprising but effective Jeremy Stickles.The piece looks gorgeous, although I was surprised to find the climactic bog in a forest instead of on the moors.Addendum: I have just rewatched this, and boy is Aidan Gillen miscast. Yes, he is evil, but his Carver is petulant, peevish and bad tempered, not thunderous and malevolent.

I had not heard of this production, so I had no expectations of it. I am a fan of the BBC literature miniseries, and the lead actor (Richard Coyle) in this had a small, disagreeable role in "Wives and Daughters." What a nice surprise to see him in such a positive role, so charming and sincere. He is wonderful here, complex and layered.I found this film to be an unexpected joy. The plot has many twists that went in unusual directions, the countryside vistas are gorgeous, it is like a rustic country vacation with a love story. If you want to find faults, there are always some to be found. The villain is handsome but one dimensional - and what is up with the "soul patch" beardlette and the hair? (And he is the reason why this is a 9 and not a 10... too modern phsyco, rather than tempestuous highlander.) The heroine is lovely, but really a bit too young to have the acting complexity to hold our interest for this long. One of the sisters has horrible modern highlighted blonde hair which many actresses have now, and it is the bane of period movies... why didn't they fix that? Some of the plot points are silly and expected, but still... overall, this is a delight, and the costumes, sets and villages feel authentic and isolated and real. At the half way point, the story completely surprised me and took us to a different place. How fun. This film is also a rare one; in that I think BOTH my parents would enjoy it. It is enough of a man's story to hold my father's interest, but enough of a woman's story to keep it lively and lovely. Much of the action is outdoors at some locations which are part of a national preserve/park which lend a fairytale quality to the action, perfect for this legend of a magical romance in a very real world.Completely enjoyable!

Despite the many glowing reviews also appearing here, I cannot recommend this production of Lorna Doone, now being sold as part of an otherwise great boxed set of BBC/A&E productions that also includes Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Ivanhoe, and others. The scenery is great, but the characters are just not likeable.Even I, an American, can recognize that every actor seems to have a different and varying English accent - it's almost like watching an international cast. The actor portraying Carver, the chief villain, is not very convincing as a tough, and carries himself like a dandy. The scenes of the protagonist mugging for the camera are numerous. The direction is probably to blame for this film's uneven quality.

I absolutely loved this film! It had everything a great film should have: excellent cast, good script and amazing acting. The characters involved in the love triangle (John Ridd, Lorna Doone and Carver Doone) were brilliantly portrayed by these stunning actors, especially Aidan Gillen, who's portrayal of the murderous Carver was superb. Every time he sauntered into view, you really believed that he was Carver, he wanted Lorna for himself and he would do everything within his power to make her love him.This film also appealed to me because of the time and place in which it was set. It was a period of troubled times which came across well in the film. I thought the costumes and sets were great and it all made you feel like you were really there and part of the whole thing.Finally, as everybody knows, one of the main things that makes a film great is its soundtrack. Well, as soon as I heard the first notes being played, I knew this was a film I'd love. The composer (John Lunn) has done the film proud.Thank you very much to the BBC for airing this masterpiece. It really made last year's Christmas.