If the "Emily" series were a film...
The idea for this post came into my head yesterday. As far as I know, there are no film versions of the "Emily" series of books by L.M. Montgomery, so I thought it would be fun to write about whom I think would fill the roles of each character best. (This isn't an exhaustive list of characters, but I think I've included all the main ones). Obviously, not all of these actors are still alive/the right age any more, but this is a dream cast, not a realistic one.
Alan Rickman
Timothee Chalamet 
Kate Winslet
Derek Jacobi
Samuel West
Penelope Wilton
Barbara Flynn
1. Emily
Emma Watson
I definitely don't think Emma Watson would be perfect - I find it hard to imagine her in Emily's dreamier moments. But she looks right (intelligent, dreamy and angst-y), and she has the necessary oomph. I considered Justine Waddell, but I think she would be too sweet and gentle (I mean that for a compliment!).
2. Dean Priest
Alan Rickman would be perfect as Dean Priest. He could do the creepy side of his character (witness: Mr. Slope in The Barchester Chronicles) and the older, staider side of his character (as in Sense and Sensibility).
3. Teddy Kent
I am not a fan of Teddy. I think he's selfish, unfeeling, and self-consciously artistic. I think Timothée Chalamet could reproduce this perfectly. (And I would rather Emily married Dean, even though he's a creep).
4. Ilse
Kate Winslet could, in my opinion, do Ilse's more serious and sillier moments well. She also looks perfect for the part (in Sense and Sensibility, anyway. Though I'm not sure what's going on with the bonnet/veil thing here).
5. Mr. Carpenter
I think he looks just right in this picture, and he could play Mr. Carpenter's eccentricity and lovableness perfectly (even though I've only seen him in a couple of things).
6. Perry
Seen here in the 1996 Persuasion. In his more cheerful moments, and when he's not being creepy Mr. Eliot (for example, in the classic BBC adaptions of the Narnia books, where he plays Prince Caspian), he would be just perfect for Perry: a bit irritating, a bit immature, cheeky, smart and ultimately pretty likable.
7. Aunt Elizabeth
Judi Dench
Judi Dench (seen here in Cranford) would be perfect. She is an amazing actress, she looks right for the part, and she would just generally be great. She could portray well both Aunt Elizabeth's strictness and her softer side.
8. Aunt Laura
Penelope Wilton, at least in Wives and Daughters, would be sweet enough and Victorian enough, but also have the gravitas and wisdom necessary for Aunt Laura in the last book.
9. Aunt Ruth
Isn't it funny how they're all from the same films? Barbara Flynn is in Wives and Daughters, The Barchester Chronicles and Cranford; she's also in Miss Potter and pretty amazing too. I can't remember if Aunt Ruth has a dog or not, but if she did, she'd look like the picture above. This actress could definitely do Aunt Ruth's normal manner, but could also unbend and stand up for Emily, too. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think she's about perfect.
After extensive thought, I cannot think of anyone for Jimmy. Can you?
In terms of plot, I think you would maybe have to use the last two books, and then include the first in passing/flashback. I don't think that the more domestic setting of the first book would work well as a film, and trying to fit three books into one film would rush and spoil the plot, leaving little time for character development.
What do you think of my selections? Would you choose them for an adaption of these books?
Oh, I absolutely love dream casts, so be prepared for a very long comment :D
ReplyDeleteI can see Emma Watson capturing the more assertive side of Emily's personality, but I'm not sure I can see her capturing the more introspective, almost ethereal side of her...Justine Waddell might fit my mental image a little more, actually. But it's very hard to pick, because I don't know if there are any actresses who could quite be how I picture Emily! She's just that kind of character.
I also liked Dean better than Teddy. (I actually don't think Dean's character was naturally a creep; I felt like L.M. Montgomery artificially forced him to be a jerk in Emily's Quest just so Emily could end up with Teddy...who let's face it, doesn't seem like a great choice unless the author works very hard to make the competition look even worse. :P) I kind of picture someone a little blander and more generic-looking than Timothée Chalamet as Teddy (you know, if he were a couple decades older, I think I could see Timothée as Dean!).
I can REALLY see Kate Winslet as Ilse! And I can see Derek Jacobi working really well as Mr. Carpenter too. I can also really picture Barbara Flynn as Aunt Ruth. You're right; I think she is about perfect. :D
Oh, Jimmy is a hard one! You know, after considering a bit, I could see Hugh Laurie working well - Jimmy is similar in some ways to his character in the David Copperfield movie I just reviewed, and that worked splendidly.
This was so much fun to read, thanks for putting it together!
Yes, that was my problem with Emily, too! If only there was an actress who was half Justine Waddell, half Emma Watson...
DeleteDean is SO much better than Teddy. Yes, actually I hadn't thought about Dean's creepiness like that...you're right. I think he does have creepy moments, but overall he's just so nice! (I mean, who would want to marry Teddy?! There's that bit in Emily's Quest where Ilse describes his general behaviour...he is not a nice person, to put it mildly.) I have always thought it was a shame that Emily married Teddy instead of Dean. It seems much more in character for her to marry Dean anyway, against the approval of her family, and then they could go and live in the Disappointed House and she could write and they could travel and everything would be happy and Teddy could fade out of the picture. And I do think that it's weird that Dean suddenly starts caring about Emily's writing when he doesn't bother about it before. He seems pretty confident of his chances of success towards the end of Emily Climbs.
Yes, I think that Hugh Laurie would work well as Jimmy. My "problem" with Hugh Laurie is that I have seen a lot of Jeeves and Wooster, so I find it very hard to take him seriously in anything else. Even in S&S 1995, I really can't see him as Mr. Palmer not Bertie, which is a shame as he is a great actor.
You're welcome - it was very fun to write!
I guess we're supposed to pity Teddy because he has a creepy weird mother, but...that doesn't exactly make him marriage-material if he has no redeeming qualities apart from that. :P I think that would have been much better too - I honestly felt like Emily and Dean would have made a really good couple. I think they spoke the same language, as it were, in a way that Emily and Teddy didn't. (Truth be told, I felt like L.M. just made EVERYONE be more of a jerk in Emily's Quest, in order to artificially force conflict into everything. It was strange. And annoying.)
DeleteHeh, well, I can understand that problem, since Jeeves and Wooster is my favorite show and I am also VERY familiar with it. I can separate Hugh from Bertie in my mind (though I do love his performance as Bertie!), but it does always seem like something's missing when he's in a role which doesn't allow him to use his comedic talents!
Yes, exactly! Mrs. Kent is so odd! I've been rereading Emily's Quest over the past couple of days in the light of these comments...poor Dean! Dense Ilse! Silly Emily (to say the least)! I wish Dean and Emily just got engaged and married straight away. They have so much in common (like when they're doing up the Disappointed House). Also, Dean is supposed to be in love with Emily in the second book, but he doesn't mind her writing then; I think it's strange that he minds a year later, even though her new book is so good. I also read somewhere that it's weird that Teddy and Emily want to live in the house Emily refurbished with Dean when Dean and Emily were engaged - it is! L.M. Montgomery, what were you doing?!
DeleteI just rewatched the "Heralds of the Red Dawn" J&W episode yesterday - it's hilarious! Cornelia Fothergill: Everard's painting Lord Sidcup at the moment.
Bertie Wooster: Really? What colour? [chuckles]
I hadn't thought of it that way with the Disappointed House, but you're right...it is a little tacky, to say the least, that Emily and Teddy happily move right in after she had expressly refurbished the place to live in it with a different husband. :P I would not be comfortable with that, were I Teddy or Emily. (Or Dean, really.) What was she doing, indeed!
DeleteOh, that episode is so wonderfully quotable! I love the scene where Bingo's revolutionary friends are having tea at Bertie's flat. "I don't know what you've been doing to the cooker, Comrade Jeeves, but I can't seem to get the gas lit."
*whispers* "It's electric, sir."
Such good stuff. xD The end of that episode does annoy me though - Jeeves and Aunt Dahlia are just too mean to poor Bertie!
Yes!! I love that scene too!
DeleteAlso: [Bertie walks in on Madeline playing the piano]
Madeline Bassett: Oh, Bertie! I need someone to turn the pages for me.
Bertie Wooster: Right, well, I'll go and find someone, shall I?
This could go on for a very, very long time...
Oh, and about Aunt Dahlia and Bertie...
Bertie Wooster: Well, I can't possibly come down to Brinkley, aged aunt. If I'm seen within a twenty-mile radius of Florence Craye, I get my spine broken.
Aunt Dahlia: Oh, you're so selfish, Bertie. You don't know how important this is to me.
Bertie Wooster: Well you don't know how important my spine is to me. I'm very attached to it.
Heh, I love that bit...Madeline and Bertie's interactions are just priceless.
Delete"Don't you think Madeline's a bit...well, soppy, Bertie?"
"Soppy?"
"All that business about baby bunny rabbits, and the stars being God's daisy chain."
"No, no, no...her beliefs are a bit out of the ordinary, perhaps, but sound, Gussie, extremely sound."
(I don't believe I've ever had the opportunity before to carry on a conversation entirely composed of Jeeves and Wooster quotes. It's quite gratifying. :D)
"Why do you think it is that the thought of the 'little something' Aunt Dahlia wants me to do for her fills me with a nameless dread?"
"Experience, sir?"
You're right, this could go on for a very long time. xD
Of all the posts for me not to notice for nearly a week, indeed! *Clicks her tongue reprovingly at herself*
ReplyDeleteWhat fun, Cecilia!! And a place to make very sure that the "Not" is prominently displayed in my name😄
I believe I actually did find one movie-ish version of Emily at one point, (forgetting the title here) but found myself Disapproving of it a very short ways in, and gave up on it on the spot.... If people would only just do books JUSTICE if they will do these things!!
Now, I find myself at a bit of a disadvantage here, knowing next to none of the actors/actresses in question, and certainly not their personalities, but some of these pictures are unmistakable🤗 Ilse, for instance.... And this particular picture of Emma Watson really does look Emily-ish to me, and also I DO like the look of Aunt Elizabeth very much, I should like to keep her, I think....
And for the second time in two months, I am very much the odd one out, because I always did like Teddy! You girls are making are making me think I need to reread these books.... (Although I agree with your evaluation of Dean, Lizzie. I think perhaps his truest moment was when he saved little "Star" that first day.... Meaning his character wasn't being forced to go in ways unnatural to him)
It was too funny to come across J&W down here literally one day after I started diving (Can a person dive on slow motion? In a oft-halting-due-to-interruptions fashion?? Because if not, I have just invented it.) into it at long, long last my own self.... And here they were, cool as cucumbers, playing away in the comments all the time. What ARE the chances of that??
Thankyou for an unexpected treat, Cecilia!!
You're welcome, Emi!
DeleteI'm glad you approve of Ilse and Aunt Elizabeth ;) Yes, isn't Lizzie right? That moment where Dean saves Emily is probably his best moment...though I do like some of him in the rest of the books. I need to reread the whole series again!
I suppose I just feel that Teddy is a bit too selfish for my liking...but equally I do like him in the first and parts of the second book. All L.M. Montgomery's characters are pretty complex, so I have a hard time deciding whether I like them or not. (There are moments when I hate Dean and even - whisper it - find Anne irritating!)
Ooh, have you started J&W? How are you finding it? I like it very much, though I'm not a huge fan of the costumes. The costumes being, of course, the most important factor of any film.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!!
I must just tiptoe into this conversation to assure Emi that, like Cecilia, I like Teddy just fine in the first book. I very much dislike him in the third book, but truth be told, I find that I dislike almost everyone in the third book. :P
Delete(And also to mention in passing that I actually really like the costumes in J&W! The women's clothing is much simpler than you usually see in period dramas, but I think it fits the aesthetic...and it was this show that made me actually appreciate men's fashion for the first time.)
I must say that, even though I'm not a huge fan of 20's/30's fashion generally, I do like the tweedier costumes (like Honoria Glossop's, for example) and some of the dresses (especially Florence's).
DeleteAnd men's fashion/clothing is an Art. I didn't really appreciate that until recently...and, apart from that dinner jacket -
Jeeves: I assumed it had got into your wardrobe by mistake, sir, or else that it has been placed there by your enemies.
Bertie Wooster: I will have you know, Jeeves, that I bought this in Cannes!
Jeeves: And wore it, sir?
Bertie Wooster: Every night at the Casino. People used to try and catch my eye!
Jeeves: Presumably they thought you were a waiter, sir.
Sorry, where was I?! Apart from that jacket, Bertie is usually a perfect example of men's fashion done well.
Bless you for calling me that, Cecilia dear😆😂 I've been meaning to say feel free to drop the Emily for ages, but comments were always long enough already without adding to them.... So thankyou for doing exactly that ;)
DeleteWell that IS comforting, especially coming from the both of you.... Perhaps my liking him in the first book just coloured the way I saw him forever after in the succeeding books.... I wonder if perhaps LMM should have left it at the first/and/or/second, and let us simply imagine the rest, rather than try to force the story in ways it didn't want to go?
I guess that's what makes them so alive sometimes, they have their disagreeable moments along with the bits we like them best for.... People generally do, and they can still be irritating no matter how much we really do love them😜 (*whispers furtively* Even Anne....)
Oh, I'm precisely four episodes in, (taking advantage of a flu day) and looking forward to the fifth!! It IS entertaining, (that moose still gets me) and Bertie is a treasure, his expressions and quips.... AND his singing!!! Priceless😂
This is so funny, you girls are bringing up things I've either just seen, or was thinking not one day ago😂 The white jacket of which Jeeves so heartily disapproved, and which Bertie packed anyway, for instance, (looks vaguely Spanish to me, I really don't think it belongs with the rest of his outfit. I don't mind it, but Jeeves is right, it DOES make him look waiter-ish) and the subject of men's fashion.... The men's costumes are very well done, to my eye, especially Bertie's, although I'm not the biggest fan of Aunt Dahlia's (or did I hear that wrong?) dresses.... I prefer them slightly more tailored, somewhat after the fashion of Honoria's, like you just said, Cecilia!
And now I have made a terrific conglomeration out of replying to multiple emails at once, and I hope this will still make some kind of sense....
I agree that I don't love all the '20s-'30s fashions, though they've grown on me over time (Madeline has a couple dresses that I really like, actually), but the men's fashion is definitely the best part...and I really love Bertie's wardrobe. (Heh, infamous white mess jacket notwithstanding (which I have to admit I rather like...though it does look a little out of place worn at a sedate English country estate!))
Delete(Also, I hope your flu is clearing up, Emi! Hopefully Bertie & Co. and the soothing strains of 47 Ginger-Headed Sailors have helped make the time a little less unpleasant ;))
Heh, and Emails is what she says when she really means comments all the time😆
DeleteI'm going to have to reply to all of these at once as I can't see how to do it otherwise...
DeleteI wish I had a shortening/nickname too, Emi - I tried to think of some several years ago, but none of them stuck. Cecilia is a difficult one to abbreviate; there's Cecy, which I'm not such a fan of, or Cecily (though that might just count as another name!) Anyway, none of them stuck when I tried it a few years ago...
I'm glad you're enjoying J&W. I do hope you get better soon! Flu and so on are so miserable. :( I, too, am not a fan of Aunt Dahlia's dresses, but I think 20's-30's clothing isn't as good on slightly older people. Some of Madeline's dresses ARE pretty, and I think Florence Craye frequently looks stylish. I think my general thinking is that I don't like most of the women's clothing objectively, BUT it looks stylish and/or glamourous in context. If that makes any sense at all!
Apparently Hugh Laurie did all his own piano playing for the series! His songs are very fun.
Jumping back to LMM, I agree with you, Emi: she should have left it as two books. Then we could just have written our own sequels (I bet someone, somewhere, has written a different ending for the series...)
I think I shall make THIS comment in two separate parts, it looks rather sensible this time around :)
Delete~Lizzie
Oh, I don't think I've met Madeline yet! I know I've heard Florence mentioned, but I don't recall her specifically either, I shall have to keep an eye out for their dresses ;)
Ahh, thankyou, that's exactly what they did do, and I'm practically back to normal now :) 😂And wouldn't you know it, Forty Seven Sailors literally has been playing in my head ever since?! I think I have a higher appreciation of it than Jeeves does😜
Actually, let me submit this comment and begin a new one, or else this is going to turn out a cropper. (I suddenly have no idea if I'm using that word right🤔Oh well😆)
There, now Cecilia!
DeleteAnd ooh, this sounds like an intriguing challenge, do you mind if I try thinking of one for you?? At least for our own use, if not the real world, because nicknames are just fun😜 Although Cecilia in itself is just such a sweetly elegant name, it's fun to write....
(Oh yes, I'm the next best thing to recovered now, thankyou🤗 )
That's the thing with fashion, isn't it? The styles tend to work very well for a particular kind of people, and the rest just kind of wear it too until fashion changes to become something that suits THEM better, and then the original lot are out of luck....
Oh did he??! That's actually impressive, I wasn't expecting him to play at all, and it was quite a surprise.... Or sing, either. Pleasant surprise, but still very unexpected! Hugh Laurie's a veritable triple threat, isn't he?? Acting, singing, dancing....
Ooh, that makes me remember a rewriting someone did for the Emily books on a fanfiction site somewhere.... This one had her marry Dean, I think, but mostly focused on later years with her daughter, and I b'lieve she (Emily) was widowed, and moved back to New Moon....
Yes, of course!!! I'll be interested to see what you come up with...you've got me thinking now! (I've come across Zilla and Silke online, from Germany and Holland...)
DeleteI know, you're right about fashion...personally, I don't think the fashions then would have suited me...but then the fashions in the 1940's would have been right up my street. I wonder if people will say the same sort of thing in a hundred years' time about our fashions..."The fashions of the 2010's wouldn't have worked on me, but 2030's clothing...!" It's funny to think of 😉
Ooh, I must look up this rewrite...or maybe I should try one myself. In fact, that could be rather fun; then I could share it on here!
Yes, Emi, do keep an eye out for their wardrobes! (Once you meet Gussie Fink-Nottle, you'll meet Madeline - they tend to go together (like kippers and marmalade).) And I, too, have a much higher appreciation of 47GHS than Jeeves does. ;P
Delete(If I may worm into a conversation that I am not part of (which is how I ended up in this comment thread in the first place, come to think of it):
~I think Zilla is a very pretty nickname
~I'd be very intrigued, Cecilia, at seeing you try your hand at an Emily's Quest rewrite
~and I've heard that the reason they decided to have Bertie sing/play in the show at all was largely just to capitalize on Hugh's musical talents (since there's not much mention of Bertie being musical in the books). Which was an excellent decision, in my opinion ;))
Yes, I really like the nickname Zilla! And oh, I really must try a rewrite!! (Actually, I'm going to. It would be so fun!!) Yes, having Hugh Laurie playing/singing was, as you say, an excellent decision...the series would have been the poorer without it. (And please, worm into as many conversations as you like - it's fun! ;))
DeleteOohlala, what fun! *hugs herself delightedly* Although looking further down in the comments, maybe the perfect nickname has already been found?? Do you feel like a Zilla, I wonder? Or is the search still on?
DeleteOoh, I love the 40's!! I think the 50's suit me a little better, though😂Which is an excellent example of what you just said.... Albeit in the past😜 It's so funny to think of the present day being history.... Which reminds me of how it seems like fashion goes in cycles, like things from the 80's and 90's coming back in these days....
Annnd it sounds like Emily's Quest II may be in the books (pun somewhat intended) for future scribbling sessions, (more recent comments are such useful places to come by information ;) and I can't wait to hear more about it! I have to wonder if Dean will be perfected, or Teddy made to fit😜
Is THAT how you spell Fink-Nottle, I was picturing a silent K, and wasn't sure whether to imagine it a Phink, or what😂 Ooh, I shall indeed, thanks awfully for the coordinates ;) Kippers and marmalade, eh? Does that mean they do?? Or that they don't? Or is it more of a turkey-and-cranberries friendship?
DeleteAllow me to echo Cecilia and say worm right away, for identical reasons to the ones she just stated ;)
Oh did they??! Brilliant move on their part, I think. It suits him somehow, even in all my newfound and limited knowledge of his character....
Well, I sort of feel like a Zilla...in a way...you see, the thing is, Cecilia sounds quite soft and quiet in my head, whereas Zilla isn't so much...so, I like Zilla, but the search may still be on! What do you think? ;)
DeleteYes!! I must get started on Emily's Quest II! I think I might actually try and keep Teddy like he is in the first two books, and do the same with Dean; then it would be fun to see how they turn out from there...I must say I still like Dean, so if it seems plausible then I want him to marry Emily. But the characters might not like that 😉 I feel like that was LMM's problem too!! (That was a pretty incoherent reply - I hope it made sense!)
I feel a little the same way, actually! Which brings me to another option, although it's not very much different.... What about Cilla? Or Cilia.... Does that help soften it in the right places?
DeletePerfect sense, don't worry😉 Scribblers are cut out to automatically understand storyish things like this.... And I like this, it gives them both an equal chance, and simply lets them develop naturally.... And we'll see which way it goes as they do!
Same, actually😄That's neat....
DeleteSo what do you think, does it fit you? Or shall we keep hunting? Nicknames are of the sort of thing that must needs be properly fitted to the person they belong to, I think😜 At least like a glove, if not as if it was made for them....
For all my being originally on Teddy's side, I like this.... Some things in stories you can just tell when it's right, and this is ;)
Don't feel like you have to rush and get to writing it on my account, though😜 I'll enjoy it thoroughly whenever it comes ;)
Hmm, I think I might do...though I have been looking online a bit, and I came across Celie, which I feel most like! I think it's pronounced "Say-lee", and I really like it! What do you think?
Delete;) Thank you!! I'll let you know as soon as I have some written as I really want to share it!!
Ohhhh, Celie, that's lovely, I LIKE it!!!! (and the pronunciation is so pretty too, I love that) And if it feels most like you at the same time, then it sounds to me like we've got ourselves a winner here🤗🤗 Shall we??
DeleteOoh, I'll be looking forward to it!!
Yes, Celie sounds perfect to me! Let's go for it!
Delete