Friday, May 15, 2015

The Making Of A Lady

The Making Of A Lady is a 2012 British period drama with Gothic elements. It's a good quality movie which by some reason drives "progressives" crazy (apparently it's sexist, racist, classist  and fails to show the upper classes as total degenerates, though some of them are) and thus is a good source of reactionary entertainment. It's also a short movie (1.5 hour) so could be easily watched in one evening.

The story goes as follows: a young woman called Emily works as a secretary/companion of a wealthy lady who has a nephew, Lord James Walderhurst, who just came back from his regiment in India. Lord James is a childless widower and his aunt insists that he fulfills his duty to his family by marrying and producing a heir. She keeps inviting young girls to meet him, and he dislikes them all. During a dinner, Emily helps him to avoid one of them and as a result, gets fired by the aunt.

Lord James feeling duly remorseful suddenly comes up with an idea: why doesn't Emily marry him? She will gain financial security and he will get an understanding wife and his aunt will finally stop harassing him. The two travel together to his estate and get married, but just as the things are starting to heat up a bit between them, he is called back to India. A couple of weeks after he leaves, his unscrupulous cousin Alec moves in with his Indian wife and her old nanny...

There are several things I like about the movie. First, it demonstrates a refreshingly traditional attitude towards marriage. Lord James and Emily don't initially marry out of love, but they find it in the end. Duty is mentioned more than once (Lord James has a duty to his family to produce a heir, and it's duty that calls him back to India though he was planning to retire).

Second, the funny thing is that the movie which is so traditional, is an adaptation of a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett which was actually quite feminist and frankly, rather boring. The film producers made several changes which greatly improved the story, imo. First, the made the main characters younger. In the book, Lord James is in his fifties (hardly a romantic character) and Emily is something like 36. In the movie, Lord James is in his late thirties/early forties and she is in her late twenties.

The book, which I will admit, I read quite some time ago, is all about portraying women as poor innocent victims (they have to bear children, for Pete's sake!), while all men without exceptions, are or downright abusive, like Alec, or simply insensitive dastards, like Lord James and the colonel of Alec's regiment. The movie, on the other hand, is free from man-bashing and is also more dynamic than the novel and quite accurately shows that there are actually some women who, like Alec's wife, dig violent men.

In short, it's quite entertaining. It has some (very brief) nudity, but no graphic bedroom scenes, though they are hinted at. The Making Of A Lady is a chick flick, but one that men could probably enjoy, too. And by watching it, you will figuratively give a bad day  to the "progressive" establishment.

11 comments:

  1. I'll want to watch this movie. It's quite a contrast to today. Duty doesn't come into the equation for marriage, but we hear words like, "she's sexy, career driven, hot" - these words can also drive a marriage apart after a while.

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  2. The word "duty" being used in any way positive was probably the reason that SJW hate it.

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  3. Housewife from FinlandMay 16, 2015 at 7:09 AM

    I love stories where people first marry someone for convenience or duty but end up respecting and loving him/her. Especially because in these stories hero/heroine is usually bit on the plain said -not sexy, career driven etc. :)

    We started watching series "Outlander" yesterday and I was so disappointed. Heorine swears (how many ex-military-nurses used to swear at 1947? I mean nurses used to have very hard discipline back then.) She is so very sexy or at least I assume she is trying to be. At least she keeps her mouth half open all the time. :) Husband is obviously the weaker vessel. Lots of nudity and sex. I said to my husband that we could just start watching porn if we watch series like that...

    Oh, and the heroine was soooo interested in botany and had hard time recognizing forget-me-not. :rolleyes:

    Which reminds my: there is something feminine in me after all. :) I am interested in botany and that is feminine, isn't it? :)

    Anyway I have to watch this "Making of a Lady" to get the memories of "Outlander" out of my head.

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  4. Housewife, I thought you'd like this movie:) Modern TV shows are often quite vulgar, that's why I refuse to watch them, however, sometimes they still make half-way decent films. The problem is, one has but so much time and money to waste on watching something mediocre at best, pornographic at worst, that's why I prefer vintage entertainment:) i watched The Making because someone sent me the link, it used to be available on YouTube, but not any more.

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  5. Housewife from FinlandMay 18, 2015 at 4:53 AM

    I just watched that movie and really enjoyed it. It is very rare that I like both hero and heroine but now I did.

    If someone else is interested, movie can be watched here (fo free and without signing in):
    http://moviesonline2.co/the-making-of-a-lady-n7680.html

    Funny thing with movies like this: I have to sit very straight when I watch them since ladies always have such a good posture. So it is actually very healthy to watch them. :)

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  6. Thanks for the link! I did like both of them, too. I liked how Lord James was portrayed, on the outside calm and reserved, but sensitive inside, which he only showed in the end, when he thought nobody was watching...

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  7. Housewife from FinlandMay 18, 2015 at 8:57 AM

    My thoughts exactly about Lord James. :) It is really rare nowadays in movies to see a man who is so totally decent and yet full of charm.

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  8. I also liked the way it ended: she did her duty, too - twice:)

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  9. Housewife from FinlandMay 19, 2015 at 4:25 AM

    What a heavy duty it must have been. ;)

    But did she ever say that she loved him? I think she didn't but I might have missed something.

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  10. Housewife from FinlandMay 19, 2015 at 4:54 AM

    One more thing: this movie reminded me how important it is to speak in a cultivated manner. Both lord James and Emily had very soft and pleasant voice and neither of them raised it.

    So this was actually very educational movie for me. :)

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  11. I think it was implied that she fell in love with him by her behaviour and that she dreamed of him when he was away and such.

    Yes, it's a nice movie, you'd like my book, too, as it's also about (presumably) an English aristocrat:)

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