キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.04.2007
Elinor and Maryanne…
I’m quite disappointed in the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility. While some things were much better than Mansfield Park, other more important things were lacking.
Costumes: score 4. I loved the costumes. Elinor and Marianne’s clothes were plainer than the richer ladies like Lady Middleton, although Marianne’s dress was a little too plain during her time in London, and Mrs. Jennings did not dress as richly as one would suppose from her wealth.
Acting: score 3. I liked the actress who played Elinor. The actress who played Marianne was very pretty, but she was a bit melodramatic at times, and especially bad when she was ill at the end. Mrs. John Dashwood was horrible. Mrs. Dashwood was a good actress, but her portrayal of the character was very different than the book, which disappointed me. I liked Edward quite a bit, as well as Lucy. The actors who played the other characters were okay, although not quite true to the characters in the book.
Camera/filming: score 4. I don’t know if I’m giving this a 4 only because Mansfield Park was so appalling, but there it is.
Musical score: score 3. For a low budget series, the instrumentation was good—some nice violins and a relatively full-sounding score—but the tone of the music was very different than the tone of the book or the series. It was rather melancholy, and the book is supposed to be a comedic romance.
Script: score 1. Absolutely awful. The series was almost 3 hours long, but the early episodes were devoid of emotion and did a poor job setting up the romances between Elinor and Edward, and Marianne and Willoughby.
I didn’t feel for the lovers at all, and the script didn’t set up the situation with Lucy Steele, so when the blow fell on Elinor, I didn’t feel for her at all. The script also didn’t set up the intense affections of Marianne and Willoughby so that when he slights her in London, it seemed like she was overreacting.
The scene structure and pacing were also very uneven, and I felt like it whipped along at the wrong moments.
The acting wasn’t bad, but the script’s dialogue multiplied the evils of the weaker actors. I liked the actress who played Elinor quite a bit, but it was painful to watch her trudge along with the lines she was given, especially in the more emotional scenes.
And then the script didn’t hold to Regency mores and traditions—people used proper names most improperly in different scenes, as well as terms of endearments that I’d have expected from Marianne and Willoughby in their early courtship, not from Edward, Elinor, or even Lucy.
And then Marianne’s sickness—pffaugh! And the last scene!!! (Camy tries to contain her disgust.)
In sum: 3 out of 5. In fact, despite the motion-sickness-inducing camera direction of Mansfield Park, I enjoyed that series much better and would be more likely to see it again than Sense and Sensibility.
I didn’t compare it to the movie with Emma Thompson because it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, but I remember liking it a lot and being swept along by the script and acting.
Elinor and Maryanne…
I’m quite disappointed in the BBC version of Sense and Sensibility. While some things were much better than Mansfield Park, other more important things were lacking.
Costumes: score 4. I loved the costumes. Elinor and Marianne’s clothes were plainer than the richer ladies like Lady Middleton, although Marianne’s dress was a little too plain during her time in London, and Mrs. Jennings did not dress as richly as one would suppose from her wealth.
Acting: score 3. I liked the actress who played Elinor. The actress who played Marianne was very pretty, but she was a bit melodramatic at times, and especially bad when she was ill at the end. Mrs. John Dashwood was horrible. Mrs. Dashwood was a good actress, but her portrayal of the character was very different than the book, which disappointed me. I liked Edward quite a bit, as well as Lucy. The actors who played the other characters were okay, although not quite true to the characters in the book.
Camera/filming: score 4. I don’t know if I’m giving this a 4 only because Mansfield Park was so appalling, but there it is.
Musical score: score 3. For a low budget series, the instrumentation was good—some nice violins and a relatively full-sounding score—but the tone of the music was very different than the tone of the book or the series. It was rather melancholy, and the book is supposed to be a comedic romance.
Script: score 1. Absolutely awful. The series was almost 3 hours long, but the early episodes were devoid of emotion and did a poor job setting up the romances between Elinor and Edward, and Marianne and Willoughby.
I didn’t feel for the lovers at all, and the script didn’t set up the situation with Lucy Steele, so when the blow fell on Elinor, I didn’t feel for her at all. The script also didn’t set up the intense affections of Marianne and Willoughby so that when he slights her in London, it seemed like she was overreacting.
The scene structure and pacing were also very uneven, and I felt like it whipped along at the wrong moments.
The acting wasn’t bad, but the script’s dialogue multiplied the evils of the weaker actors. I liked the actress who played Elinor quite a bit, but it was painful to watch her trudge along with the lines she was given, especially in the more emotional scenes.
And then the script didn’t hold to Regency mores and traditions—people used proper names most improperly in different scenes, as well as terms of endearments that I’d have expected from Marianne and Willoughby in their early courtship, not from Edward, Elinor, or even Lucy.
And then Marianne’s sickness—pffaugh! And the last scene!!! (Camy tries to contain her disgust.)
In sum: 3 out of 5. In fact, despite the motion-sickness-inducing camera direction of Mansfield Park, I enjoyed that series much better and would be more likely to see it again than Sense and Sensibility.
I didn’t compare it to the movie with Emma Thompson because it’s been so long since I’ve seen it, but I remember liking it a lot and being swept along by the script and acting.
Comments
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0847150/
But nothing beats the BBC Pride and Prejudice--although the more recent theatrical Pride and Prejudice depicts the differences between country and city balls quite well.
Darcy rocks! I want to be Darcy!
(And I'm terrified that I'm actually Mr. Collins.)