Hamlette is hosting a "We Love Fairytales Week" over at her blog - go and take a look and participate if you're not already!
I mentioned in my last post that I love the Six Swans fairytale. Before we get down to business, I'm just going to say about the name of it: it's either the Six Swans or the Seven Swans, depending on the version. My book and Wikipedia (!) says six, but there are versions with seven. Anyway, I thought that I'd publish my dream cast of this, if it were made into a film.
A synopsis: a king marries a wicked woman, from whom he hides his six sons and one daughter. The stepmother finds them and turns the sons into swans. The daughter, who was hiding, discovers that the only way to lift the spell is to sew a shirt for each brother out of nettles, and remain silent for the six years this will take her. During those six years, she meets and marries the king of a neighbouring country; but, when her three children are born and disappear (they have been stolen by the stepmother) she is accused of witchcraft. Just in time, before she is burned as a witch, the girl finishes the sixth shirt and throws them over her brothers, the swans, who are then transformed back into men - except for the youngest brother, who still has the wing of a swan instead of an arm, for the sister did not have time to finish his shirt. The stepmother is punished, the girl is reunited with her children, and they all lived happily ever after.
If this were a film, I would cast:
1. The Princess:
I would call her Alouette... I like the sound and feel of it!
I would cast Justine Waddell for her. She has the right balance of sweetness and determination (because all the best fairytale heroines are sweet and determined in proper measures).
2. The Stepmother
I don't think she really needs a name, do you?
I would cast Keely Hawes (whom I have only ever seen in Wives and Daughters). Imagine this photo but with more period-correct hair:
I would write her script so she was an entrancing and magnetic woman, who only revealed her true colours after her marriage to the king, causing him to hurry back to hide his children...
3. The King (Alouette's father)
This man needs to play the king as a genuinely kind man with actual morals who just makes a mistake - think less weak and deluded, more trying to make the right choice and getting it wrong. Think Mr. Gibson from Wives and Daughters. How about Paul Bettany - I think he could do it.
4. The King (Alouette's husband)
This man needs to be gentlemanly, courteous, and slightly impetuous and fiery. You could have a really sweet romance with him and Alouette, especially as she has to be silent for all of it (and it would have my favourite thing, the story carrying on after their marriage).
I want to call him Gervase. Don't come at me here about the name - I love it! It's knightish!
I cast: Ralph Fiennes.
5. The six brothers:
I casted each one individually, as I like the idea of them all having their own personalities and stories.
Michael Caine would play the oldest one, maybe a little younger than in this picture. He would be called something like - Michael? I'm having a hard time thinking of anything else. However, in keeping with the French feel of it, let's call him Piers. Let's go for that. He has an older-brotherly sort of character, responsible but not boring.
The second brother, played by Kenneth Branagh, would be called Aimeric. He would be fun and maybe a little too pleasure-loving, but not super immoral, and would have a good relationship with Alouette.
The third brother would be played by JJ Field (whom I've only ever seen in Northanger Abbey). He could be studious and clever, yet playful. We can call him Nicholas.
Perhaps the fourth brother could be played by Anthony Andrews, as a - well, the thing is, I've only seen him as Sebastian in Brideshead Revisited, and part of The Scarlet Pimpernel, as the Scarlet Pimpernel. I'm therefore finding it tricky to imagine him as anything other than an alcoholic or a playboy. Perhaps he could be sensitive and - erm - musical? I'm making this up a bit. I can imagine him being like that, yes - less robust than his older brothers, but still manly. Aaaanndd let's call him - Alain.
The fifth brother, played by Jeremy Brett, could be the not-so-nice one. Maybe he could have a redemptive character arc and turn out nice? Perhaps we could twist the original story a bit so he is the one who ends up with a wing, not the younger one. He can be called Leonard.
Gregory!!! He has to be a Gregory! This is James D'Arcy, and he would be great... he would be perfect as the immature youngest one.
Now, two more characters, added in:
6. Alouette's friend
She could marry one of the brothers, maybe?
Let's call her Isabeau (real name, I've done my research!). She can be more impetuous than Alouette, and maybe get them both into trouble. I'd cast Carey Mulligan.
7. Alouette's sister-in-law
The king Alouette marries has to have a sister whom one of the brothers can marry, because I want them all to have happy endings. Let's call her Agathe, and cast Felicity Jones...
And that's all the characters!
What do you think? Would you watch this film?
Good casting. I don't know about all of the actors together since I could only tell if it's working when I see the movie. When a character doesn't talk, it's rather hard to established the personality without judging by their appearances so Waddell have that certain look that says sweet, innocent with a determind so I think she would a good Alouette. I guess all the names should be a bit French, for some reason, I just find the Six Swans to be very French.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
Yes, it is hard to judge how it would work offhand, isn't it? I hope they would work together... Waddell is very good at acting that sort of character, so I think it would work. Yes, I went for French names as it is a French story, according to my (admittedly limited) research, and the names just seemed to work.
DeleteYou too!
I'm always down for watching things with Paul Bettany and/or Kenneth Branagh so I'd watch this, haha! The different personalities you came up with for all of the brothers help add some depth to such a huge cast, which is so important. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMe too! I haven't seen that many films with either of them in, but they seem to be consistently good actors. Aw, thank you so much!
DeleteI must admit I'm not familiar with this fairytale, but this is quite a cool cast you've assembled! With all these actors and actresses I know, I think it's quite likely I'd be at least interested in watching it if this were a real movie even though I don't know the story. :D (Well, I do know the story now that you've explained it...you know what I mean. :P)
ReplyDelete(You know the funny thing? I knew that Keeley Hawes played Cynthia in Wives and Daughters, and yet when reading the book I found myself imagining her as Hyacinth and I could not shake that idea...I feel like that would be perfect.)
(And also tangentially related and still on the Keeley Hawes theme, but since you've only seen her in W&D I take it you've not seen the mini-series of Our Mutual Friend?)
So sorry for the very late reply...
DeleteI would be very keen to watch it too, as long as the actors would work together. I've been thinking about it, and it seems to me that there's quite a diverse selection of acting styles in there - it'd be interesting to see how they mixed, if that makes sense.
Ooh, Keely Hawes would be good as Hyacinth! To be honest, she's a very good actress, so I'm sure she could do that very well - have you seen her in the mini-series of the Eagle of the Ninth?
(Oh, no, I haven't - OMF has been on my list of books to read for a while, so I've bee procrastinating watching the film - is she good in it?)
No worries! I've been in that boat :P
DeleteThat happens to me a lot in dream casts too...I cast actors from all throughout film history, and it's hard to know if their styles would really mesh together or not. But hey, this is a dream cast, so anything is possible!
Oh, I didn't know that there WAS a mini-series of Eagle of the Ninth...that's intriguing! Is it good? And I highly recommend reading OMF - it's one of my special favorites. The mini-series was well-done and I like it, but I would still read the book first. Keeley Hawes is good in it, although she isn't at all the way I pictured the character when reading the book...she plays my namesake, Lizzie Hexam herself!
Yes, exactly! Anything can happen!
DeleteYes, it is good, though not as good as the book. Also, while I am a staunch defender of all the BBC miniseries, it cannot be denied that this one is one of the slightly more budget ones in that the filming is poor-quality. However, it captures the spirit of it extremely well, and is, in my humble opinion, better than "The Eagle", with which I cannot get on :P
Oho, does she play Lizzie Hexam? I must read the rest of the book and then watch the series. (Part of the reason why I've been procrastinating finishing OMF is because I found that when I came across Lizzie, I thought of you, so I was doing badly separating you and Lizzie in the book :D)
Okay, got it...but yes, That Sort of BBC miniseries can still be quite enjoyable! I really enjoy the '80s miniseries of The Barchester Chronicles, for instance. (So, miniseries = good, The Eagle = bad...mental note made.)
DeleteYes, she does! And I don't know much you've met the Lammles yet, but Colonel Fitzwilliam from the '95 P&P plays Alfred Lammle, which shocked me utterly when I discovered it. (Oh, that's so funny! While that's unfortunate in a way, I'm rather honored at the same time ;D)
The Barchester Chronicles??? I LOVE them (or it, I suppose, as it's a miniseries. It just sounds wrong to say it correctly :P). Mr Slope... (I mean, he's a creep, but he's so funny!) And I love the Victorian high church Anglican vibes and the clothes and the dialogue and the wholesomeness of it all :D And the Warden looks like how I remember my grandfather looking, so that gives it a double seal of approval!
DeleteOh, no, I haven't met them yet - I must get reading! (:D I'm glad to hear it!)
Yes, it's delightful, isn't it? It was one that we originally started watching somewhat on a whim, and I'm glad that we did. :D Heh, Mr. Slope is dreadful, but dreadfully amusing. xD And how cool that is that the Warden looked like your grandfather! He's just the best character, isn't he?
DeleteI know, I watch compilations of Mr Slope on YouTube sometimes just to cheer myself up if I'm down xD Yes, the Warden is the best... and the Grantleys... though I find it hard to make myself like Mr - is it Mr Thorpe? Whom *spoiler* Eleanor marries at the end??
Delete(Heh, and now I must apologize for MY late reply...I fell rather behind on blogging things this past week!) I know what you mean; Mr. Thorpe(?) does come across as rather dry. I expect it's one of those cases where he's supposed to be non-flashy but still have real worth, a sort of Colonel Brandon equivalent...but he does come across as just rather uninteresting. :P (Although considering her other options does make him look a lot better, I must say xD)
DeleteI'm behind on all things blogging too, so don't worry :D He's a bit uninteresting, but as you say, compared to Mr Slope, it's a no-brainer... part of me wants to say that the other one, the fun one who's marrying her for her money, would be more interesting to live with, but obviously there are other MAJOR things to put her off him! Maybe she can wake Mr Thorpe up a little as time goes on :P
DeleteOh yes, the-one-named-Bertie-but-who-I-never-call-Bertie-because-it-makes-me-think-of-Bertie-Wooster-who-I-like-much-better. :P He is more interesting than Mr. Thorpe, for sure, but I feel like he'd get pretty irritating pretty quickly! xD But yes, there were other rather big problems there as well...so all in all, yes, let's just hope that Eleanor has an enlivening effect on Mr. Thorpe eventually. :P
DeleteExactly, that's the one! (And isn't Bertie Wooster so much nicer? A real gentleman, even if a little dense.) You're right, he would be insanely irritating, unless one were the same kind of crazy irreverent person! Mr. Thorpe probably isn't beyond redemption from utter staid-ness XD Eleanor doesn't seem to mind that, either, so she's happy :P
DeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteOoh, this cast is absolutely delightful! I would most definitely watch this film. Your casting ideas are perfection. :)
Thank you! I've love to watch it, too! :)
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