Mr. Malcolm's List (2022)

[StatisticalOutlier]

Check out her mask.  Sublime.  As were all of the costumes.

This is a fun little romp.  I haven't had much exposure to color-blind casting, but if this is any indication, I'm all in.  Or maybe it's just this cast.  I loved spending a couple of hours embroiled in their machinations.

Edited July 3, 2022 by StatisticalOutlier
Uh, it's color-blind, not color-bind.

[Dr.OO7]

I saw this today and I LOVED it (I'm a huge fan of period dramas). The colorblind casting aspect was well done, because the script and acting were so good it was easy to overlook.

[LADreamr]

This looks wonderful.  Is it streaming?

Edit: Looks like just in theaters for now

Edited July 4, 2022 by LADreamr

[AngieBee1]

Really lovely film. I saw the original teaser with Gemma Chan in the role of Julia and while I am a fan of Chan. Zawe Ashton was perfect. Honestly the entire cast was great.

[SeanC]

My main issue with this story is that the whole concept of the list is really just a reflection of standard qualities that any woman seeking a husband in this social setting would have been expected to have. There was a whole network of governesses, finishing schools, etc. built around facilitating the acquisition of all of these things. Well, other than being conversant in politics, that would be quite unusual for a man to want in a wife in this era. Which could have been social commentary on the marriage market itself, but the movie never makes that connection.

[Trini]

Finally saw this, and it's excellent! Everything you'd want from a rom-com or period rom-com. 10/10, zero notes. Writing, sets, costumes, just lovely; perfect. I feel sorry for people who were put off by the non-white casting, everyone was great. Also, apparently I'd completely forgotten that Theo James was in this, so that was a pleasant "surprise" for me!

[Scarlett45]

This has been on my list, and I was going to use Amazon credits for it but those expired! I need to check this out after the New Year. 

[Cress]

It's really a wonderful film. Very Jane Austen-ish and great fun to see we get the full treatment of swelling music, horseback riding, and sunlit kisses, just like any other period rom-com. Plus, there was a painting of Mr. Malcolm's black family at his estate, and it reminded me of the famous painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle, equal to her white cousin. I love that the movie is making clear that diversity is not out of place in a period drama.

[Trini]

I read somewhere that Gemma Chan originally had the role of Julia, so after a little digging I found the short film that the director had done as a sort of proof-of-concept a few years before the full length film came out.. This article talks a bit about the change: https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/gemma-chan-originated-a-key-role-in-mr-malcolms-list-but-heres-the-big-reason-why-she-was-replaced

The short has a couple of scenes not in the full length film:

 

I don't know if the movie would have been as funny without Zawe Ashton as Julia.

[Scarlett45]

Finally sitting down to watch. Freida Pinto is so pretty. 

21 hours ago, Trini said:

I don't know if the movie would have been as funny without Zawe Ashton as Julia.

I’m 25 min and I’m loving what she’s doing with the part. It’s a hard one, she’s got to be likable enough to be funny, but the audience has to be rightly annoyed by her. 

[Trini]

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

I’m 25 min and I’m loving what she’s doing with the part. It’s a hard one, she’s got to be likable enough to be funny, but the audience has to be rightly annoyed by her. 

She had a fine line to tread, and she aced it!

[Scarlett45]

I did like this one. It wasn’t as “flashy” as Bridgerton (from an aesthetic point of view), and can I be honest, I didn’t like Mr Malcolm that much. I mean he was handsome, and had a gorgeous smile but I didn’t find him charming or a guy a would root for. I was thinking he was to be a Mr Darcy type, but I ended up liking Darcy. I think the actor played him too reserved. 
 

Zawe Ashton as Julia MADE this movie. She made it funny!
 

Edited to add- now that I’ve watched it all the way through, although I love Gemma Chan (I think she’s beautiful and talented), I don’t think she would’ve brought the humor to this role that Julia needed. Gemma does “tragically beautiful” so well, but I’ve never seen her do “comedic and snarky”. Not saying she can’t do it, just that I haven’t seen it. 

On 7/23/2022 at 2:12 PM, SeanC said:

My main issue with this story is that the whole concept of the list is really just a reflection of standard qualities that any woman seeking a husband in this social setting would have been expected to have. There was a whole network of governesses, finishing schools, etc. built around facilitating the acquisition of all of these things. Well, other than being conversant in politics, that would be quite unusual for a man to want in a wife in this era. Which could have been social commentary on the marriage market itself, but the movie never makes that connection.

I know! I thought that’s where they would go before I saw your comment. I wasn’t a huge fan of Malcolm (as I said above) but his list wasn’t odd. He wanted a lot, but nothing unobtainable individually. Selina was most of those things but she came from a poorer family and didn’t have any musical talent, temperament wise they did fit. 

 

On 12/29/2022 at 12:59 AM, Trini said:

Finally saw this, and it's excellent! Everything you'd want from a rom-com or period rom-com. 10/10, zero notes. Writing, sets, costumes, just lovely; perfect. I feel sorry for people who were put off by the non-white casting, everyone was great. Also, apparently I'd completely forgotten that Theo James was in this, so that was a pleasant "surprise" for me!

Oh and I love Theo James. I didn’t recognize him at first. 

[Dr.OO7]

If you watch the credits, you get a slew of illustrations that tell you what happened to everyone afterwards--the couples marry in a double wedding, the girls get pregnant at the same time, even the servants end up happily married.