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Review of the film Miss Potter.
Apparently the paper was right in their prediction that the Giants would win the super-bowl because they have fairy dust. Doesn't matter who the better team is, the underdog has the fairy dust.
I didn't watch it. Being single and without a man about, I treated myself to a movie...Miss Potter. As you may have guessed? I'm not a fan of bio-pics. Reason I've avoided Iron Lady and J. Edgar...the trope I find rather dull. But this film, which came out several years ago..is quite good. Not your run of the mill bio-pic at all, and much like Finding Neverland...provides insight into an artistic perspective. But it also shows how difficult it was for a woman back then, things men take for granted, simple freedoms, Beatrix had to fight for. To be taken seriously, and to set off on her own. It's subtle, that power-play, women must marry, have a man. And is similar to both Bridesmaids and The Help in its subtle push. Three different time periods...1)1960s, 2)1800s, and 3) 21st Century..and there's still that feeling that you are not quite complete without. Yet, in both Miss Potter and in The Help...the women succeed despite it. Their are powerful in their own right, men lurk in the background.
Miss Potter is a romance though. Very much so. And it is humorous in places. With touches of animation. And the cinematography is beautiful - much of it is filmed in The Lake Country of Northern England (I think it's Northern, I've been there, I have pictures to prove it but not digitized - but I was there in 1987. That's a long time ago. I think 22 years ago? Don't tell me if its more.). The Lake Country of England reminds me a great deal of the Hudson River Valley of Upstate New York...same rural and pastoral setting, with tall mountains, lakes, and rolling hills without the drama of Colorado or Wyoming's rockies. New England isn't called New England for nothing, it looks a lot like England. As does much of New York and Pennsylvania. This may be why I love this area of the US.
But back to the film. I think I prefer bio-pics about artists...you can enfold their stories into the film. Here...we see the characters from her books hop about at times, or twitch upon the page. We see the process of turning art into a book, the old printing presses, and the struggle to get published. We see her come up with her stories and what inspires them. We watch how paints and fixes them upon the page.
The film also shows the strained and difficult relationship with her parents, who at one point she accuses of being social climbers. And here - once again we see underlined the difference between a US film and a UK, the class issues are ever so slightly different. In the US the rich are all the merchant class, there are no lords or ladies. While in Britain and Europe...the US old money rich are considered somewhat crass. Beatrix Potter's mother wants her to marry a Lord or Lady and be taken care of. At one point the excellent Emily Watson who portrays Millie Ward, states...it's better to be single, honestly the only two things men are good for are financial stability and procreation. She like Beatrix...had chosen to be single, okay choice is not quite the right word, they have not found someone to love yet. And as Beatrix tells her parents - I don't just want to be married to be taken care and to run an estate, I want to be loved. Both are well into their 30s.
And finally, Beatrix's desire to preserve the Lake District. At the time of her death Beatrix Potter donated over 4,000 acres of the Lake Country to the public in a land preservation trust.
The Lake District that I saw and loved in the 1980s is there because of Beatrix Potter.
The acting is top-notch, with Renee Z. (Bridget Jones fame) portraying Beatrix, Emily Watson playing Millie, and Ewan McGregor, Mr. Norman Ward.
Kept my attention throughout, made me smile, laugh and cry. And I left the film much as I did Last Chance Harvey and The Help feeling hope. For Miss Potter like those films is about hope. About getting past an unexpected hurdle and somehow making things work.
I didn't watch it. Being single and without a man about, I treated myself to a movie...Miss Potter. As you may have guessed? I'm not a fan of bio-pics. Reason I've avoided Iron Lady and J. Edgar...the trope I find rather dull. But this film, which came out several years ago..is quite good. Not your run of the mill bio-pic at all, and much like Finding Neverland...provides insight into an artistic perspective. But it also shows how difficult it was for a woman back then, things men take for granted, simple freedoms, Beatrix had to fight for. To be taken seriously, and to set off on her own. It's subtle, that power-play, women must marry, have a man. And is similar to both Bridesmaids and The Help in its subtle push. Three different time periods...1)1960s, 2)1800s, and 3) 21st Century..and there's still that feeling that you are not quite complete without. Yet, in both Miss Potter and in The Help...the women succeed despite it. Their are powerful in their own right, men lurk in the background.
Miss Potter is a romance though. Very much so. And it is humorous in places. With touches of animation. And the cinematography is beautiful - much of it is filmed in The Lake Country of Northern England (I think it's Northern, I've been there, I have pictures to prove it but not digitized - but I was there in 1987. That's a long time ago. I think 22 years ago? Don't tell me if its more.). The Lake Country of England reminds me a great deal of the Hudson River Valley of Upstate New York...same rural and pastoral setting, with tall mountains, lakes, and rolling hills without the drama of Colorado or Wyoming's rockies. New England isn't called New England for nothing, it looks a lot like England. As does much of New York and Pennsylvania. This may be why I love this area of the US.
But back to the film. I think I prefer bio-pics about artists...you can enfold their stories into the film. Here...we see the characters from her books hop about at times, or twitch upon the page. We see the process of turning art into a book, the old printing presses, and the struggle to get published. We see her come up with her stories and what inspires them. We watch how paints and fixes them upon the page.
The film also shows the strained and difficult relationship with her parents, who at one point she accuses of being social climbers. And here - once again we see underlined the difference between a US film and a UK, the class issues are ever so slightly different. In the US the rich are all the merchant class, there are no lords or ladies. While in Britain and Europe...the US old money rich are considered somewhat crass. Beatrix Potter's mother wants her to marry a Lord or Lady and be taken care of. At one point the excellent Emily Watson who portrays Millie Ward, states...it's better to be single, honestly the only two things men are good for are financial stability and procreation. She like Beatrix...had chosen to be single, okay choice is not quite the right word, they have not found someone to love yet. And as Beatrix tells her parents - I don't just want to be married to be taken care and to run an estate, I want to be loved. Both are well into their 30s.
And finally, Beatrix's desire to preserve the Lake District. At the time of her death Beatrix Potter donated over 4,000 acres of the Lake Country to the public in a land preservation trust.
The Lake District that I saw and loved in the 1980s is there because of Beatrix Potter.
The acting is top-notch, with Renee Z. (Bridget Jones fame) portraying Beatrix, Emily Watson playing Millie, and Ewan McGregor, Mr. Norman Ward.
Kept my attention throughout, made me smile, laugh and cry. And I left the film much as I did Last Chance Harvey and The Help feeling hope. For Miss Potter like those films is about hope. About getting past an unexpected hurdle and somehow making things work.
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