dorothea suppose to be beautiful
dont you think they chose the actress wrongly?
No, I think Juliet Aubrey was perfectly cast.
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MovieChat Forums > Middlemarch (1994) Discussion > dorothea suppose to be beautiful
When I read the book, my feeling was that she was beautiful but superficially plain and austere in her dress and styling by her own intention. I think more importantly, she had a serene, spiritual beauty that shone through the outward trappings and that was evident to everyone around her. My main problem with Juliet Aubrey is that she just looks too old. The other actors recite lines about how young she is, but I don't see it or feel it. Part of the tragedy of watching her marry Casaubon is seeing someone so young and vital tied down to someone old and stale and sallow, and I just don't get that sharp contrast with this actress. Also, I always pictured Dorothea as being physically smaller-- again, part of seeming younger, I suppose.
I'm not even halfway through the movie yet, but I am just not feeling this Dorothea! I really hope the upcoming Sam Mendes version does a better job of casting, because Dorothea Brooke is such a great character.
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It ruined the series for me the way she looked, Dorothea although austere is created to be beautiful.
And I agree that she looks way too old.
And what's surprising is that the actress was just 24 at the time, but she looks 10 years older.... Weird or what?
shareShe had definite, well-defined crows feet.
Women typically get those from age or too much sun exposure (tanning freaks).
I am shocked to know that she was only 24. I thought for sure she must have been mid-thirties at least.
My main problem with Juliet Aubrey is that she just looks too old.I have a feeling that that may perhaps have been a director's decision. If she had looked her real age (24 at the time of shooting I believe), the contrast between her and Casaubon may have bordered on the obscene. Being younger may work in the book where one does not 'see her' as such, but it's a different matter in a film. At any rate, the age contrast worked for me. share
Hmmm, and Patrick Malahide was 49, which is just about right for Casaubon, although they made him look older with the hair and clothes and whatnot. I thought both he and Juliet Aubrey were perfect casting.
shareThe hair and clothes and whatnot? You mean they shouldn’t have clothed him in Victorian styles?
shareI think the user meant to say that the styles of the time weren't flattering to his age. The type of haircut and pilgrim like clothing made him look older(so yeah, it was more like he was dressing behind the times,) there was other attire he could've worn
shareI thought the actress was very pretty, but whoever did her hair... I mean, the back of her head just looked flat. A more swooping, lower-fastened style would have been more flattering and just as appropriate.
shareShe was TERRIFIC as Dorothea! Perhaps not a Hollywood-style beauty, but that suits the part.
sharewell, first: these British actresses and actors seem to be able to transform their ages up (or down) 10 or 20 years, almost at will, and they seem to enjoy prolonged careers in British productions; Hollywood actresses, on the other hand, with a few exceptions, are done around age 44, when the 'glamor' begins to fade. I don't like it, but that's the way it is.. Meryl Streep can keep going, but Meg Ryan is done - and so are several other actresses who were popular in the 1980s and 90's (add Andie MacDowell to that list, unless you count commercials).
so, if you are casting for Middlemarch, Juliet Aubrey is a reasonable fit. she played 'older' here, I think, because her prospects for marrying must at least appear to be fading (we learn from Jane Austen novels that once a girl got past 20-22, she was considered an old maid..? (--: ) - and a whole miniseries with a crotchedy old Reverend marrying a future Scarlett Johansson-teen-lookalike would be too grotesque to consider, right? (ok for a novel, no go for the screen).
Juliet could look a little 'dowdy' - or very nice, depending on the need.
And I think Hollywood wastes the talents of too many fine actresses.
:-) canuckteach (--:
I thought Aubrey was very attractive. She's quite tall and her brand of good looks didn't overpower the nature of the character.
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I know this novel backwards and forwards; when I first watched this production on Masterpiece Theatre, I loved Aubrey's Dorothea, who never felt old. She had just the right combination of beauty and gravitas. Some wispy little starlet would have been all wrong for this part.
You're so right about the horrible way Hollywood treats actresses, though I would not have used the rather talentless Meg Ryan as an example. Think Susan Sarandon or Julianne Moore, whose participation in great films has dwindled to nearly nothing of particular quality. What a waste!
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That's not what their imdb pages tell me. Susan Sarandon will have five films coming out in 2013. Julienne Moore will have three. Meg Ryan didn't work for a couple of years, but now is back in the saddle.
Admittedly I don't know how big their parts are.
dont you think they chose the actress wrongly?Perfect casting which was fully justified by Ms Aubrey's performance and her looks, not to mention her inner beauty share
I agree with you! It pains me to watch this because it doesn't make any sense why these men would love her so much. To me she looks okay, but too old for the part and boring. And she doesn't seem spirited. She is just lifeless, I can't imagine anybody falling for her. It's so annoying...
shareI just saw other pictures of the actress and she actually looks way more beautiful now than in Middlemarch! They must have dulled her purposely down. The hair style didn't become her at all. If she had her beautiful long hair hanging more into her face it would've been so much better, but I know that wasn't the style then... I think she looked older because she is very thin, that made her cheeks seem a bit hollow.
shareI haven't seen this adaptation yet but I picture a young Nicola Pagett when reading the book. The characterisation of her most famous part, Elizabeth Bellamy, reminds me a little of Dorothea.
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I was okay with this Do-do. She was believable and pretty enough.
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Juliet Aubrey IS a beautiful woman in this film, and internalizes the character of Dorothea splendidly.
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