Friday evening Ken and I watched a huge chunk of the fairly recent movie, Mary Queen of Scots. Both of us thrilled to the rugged, awe-inspiring landscapes of Scotland--they seemed other-worldly to us because our rugged landscape is so different.
We don't have much further to go with the movie, really, but I'm a bit disappointed that the viewer isn't offered more insight into many of the characters--most of the insights come from the characters' reactions to events, catastrophes, and the like. And I must say the only character of consequence, the only character that the camera really focuses on is Mary. And perhaps Elizabeth, though secondarily. Of course we're not meant to care about her.
I'm surprised that so few characters close to the queens are identified or easily identifiable. I would have appreciated a fuller picture of the cast and characters involved. But still, the film is entertaining, Scotland is such a huge presence, the costumes are grand, and Mary herself is something to see.
Tonight after finishing Mary, we will watch Vice, the film that skewers the former Vice-president Dick Cheney and others in the GW Bush administration. It's supposed to be funny. If only it weren't so horribly sad. But funny is great from where I sit. Have you seen it?
Today I settled back into The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins again, reviewing the 50 pages I had read, and then reading 50 more pages. I'm deeply sunk into it now. I'll enjoy resuming tomorrow. I'm enjoying this one for the Back to the Classics Challenge (in the "Very Long Classic" category), the TBR Challenge, and the Chunkster Challenge.
Saturday, March 16, 2019
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I really want to see Mary Queen of Scots. I can see how the flaws that you mention could detract from the film. It is good to spend a weekend relaxing a bit with films and books when one can do so.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd say that Mary Queen of Scots is an excellent, entertaining way to relax (and to be a bit thrilled) on the weekend. Such a story! No wonder so many works of fiction and nonfiction over the years have been written about the drama of her life, and gosh--so many movies as well.
DeleteIt's funny you should say that Scotland seems other-worldly. The Highlands seem so to us over here too and I've always wondered why. Then I saw a geology documentary (most people find my choice of TV programmes a bit odd) and apparently a chunk of Scotland was once attached to what is now Newfoundland, eons ago of course, but how fascinating is that?
ReplyDeletePleased you're enjoying The Woman in White. I misread it at first and thought you'd written The Woman in Black (Susan Hill of course). I was going to ask if you'd seen the Daniel Radcliffe movie of that. I went with my daughter and we spent the whole movie in a state of shock anticipation... not sure how else to put it. Every now and then we would jump out of our seats and almost shriek. So we were in turns terrified and killing ourselves laughing. Luckily there were only about half a dozen people in the cinema so we weren't bothering anyone. Too funny.
Cath,
DeleteJust so you'll know, I'm fascinated by geology and by geology docs, as well as archaeology, anthropology, ancient history, and on and on.
I do find it so incredibly interesting that the Highlands of Scotland might have been connected at one time to what is now Newfoundland. And I see it! From all those travel brochures I've seen of Newfoundland.
I have The Woman in Black on my Nook TBR pile. I am hoping to get to it, at least in 2020. So I'm making a note that there's a film. I definitely will not see the film before the book.
I am loving The Woman in White--not a single dull page or moment and I'm up to p. 170.
The movie where I screamed out loud was Psycho, when I saw it during my freshman year at college, with a load of my friends, on campus. I was not the only one who shrieked that night!
We haven't been watching many movies this winter, but I'm next on the library hold list for Mary Queen of Scots...looking forward to it. Glad you're investing in The Woman in White now. That was a very enjoyable read for me. I'm not really reading anything at the moment, but I do have a stack of books from the library to spend time with later this evening. We'll see what strikes my fancy!
ReplyDeleteJoAnn,
DeleteA stack of books from the library...hmmm. I'll be so interested to discover what you'll choose.
I read 70 pages of The Woman in White today--up to p. 170--it's so spell-binding!
I really resist long books like The Woman in White, but your interest in it has me thinking I should at least give it a try. I have read very good things about it.
ReplyDeleteHi Tracy,
DeleteI explained my "reading tomes" strategy and then my reply vanished!
Anyway, what I do when I have a very long book I'm interested in reading is this: I determine the number of pages I think I can manage per day, or per weekend, or whatever works per week. It can be a small number if that's all there's time for. At the same time, I have a fast read going along the side, to turn to when I tire of the longer read, or for right before bed, or whenever the dense read won't work.
However, I keep exceeding my daily page counts for The Woman in White. I'm really spellbound, so I read more. But if I were really busy, I wouldn't. This one is a nail-biter! Never a dull moment, at least from my point of view. I will be so sorry when it's over!
Because you're still working, you might give yourself a month or 6 weeks or more to read a 600-page book, while all the while you're also reading other shorties.
I read The Woman in White some years ago and enjoyed it. Is it the first Wilkie Collins book that you've read? We enjoyed Mary Q and I was really pleased because it was actually filmed in Scotland but historically it's not great and didn't even give any sense of all those years that she was in captivity - first by the Scots and then by the English. Of course she would have had a French accent too.
ReplyDeleteDecades ago I tried to get into The Moonstone, and it didn't take. I will try again in the relatively near future. So yes, The Woman in White is the first I'll be finishing.
DeleteI agree that Mary Q was historically a bit vapid. She had an immensely complex life, as did her cousin, and films have a hard time doing them justice, as a whole. Books are perhaps better suited?
I was a bit disappointed with Mary, Queen of Scots too - Saiorse Ronan was amazing, but the writing of the film didn't really live up to it. But, yes, beautiful! I must get up to Scotland more.
ReplyDeleteSimon,
DeleteWonderful to reconnect with you! Yes, the writing was not up to the glorious subject matter. I so envy you the opportunity to travel to Scotland without a king's ransom in hand. Best wishes to you!