The Kiss
I just saw this film, and the one thing I cannot get over is how terrible and awkward the kiss between Anne and Wentworth was. It was so bad it almost ruined the movie for me! Anyone agree?
shareI certainly do. I thought Anne looked like a fish gasping for air. Not romantic or sexy in the slightest.
shareHey Adomination, I can see what you mean about the kiss but I still thought it was sweet. Of course, I wish we had seen more of it and the angles were better so we could see it in full but you take what you can. Then again nobody does a kiss like Richard Armitage in North and South, now that is a kiss that can start a war(and I am sure it did and still does)
shareI loved the kissing scene, it felt genuine and it was sooooo romantic. It did not ruin the film for me, on the contrary. It was moving.
The tear runnig down Anne's cheek , how poignant! I so felt her stake in this unexpected second chance for happiness. And Wentworth's hesitation as he was probably remembering that they had been at this point before but without a happy end. And then "THE kiss" which
makes you want to rip up the newspaper and turn it into confetti to spray around your room
I loved it!
Mrs. Thornton, you know a sweet kiss when you see one, don't you?
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Mrs. Thornton, you know a sweet kiss when you see one, don't you?
LOL Coira!!! You know me too well.
You know Coira, you brought up an excellent point about Wentworth's hesitation, I never even thought of it in that way. Good observation. share
Wentworth's hesitation
Wentworth's hesitating gave the scene an intensely romantic tension. You could feel how Anne willed him to take that leap of faith and let himself fall into that ring of fire all over again. This time, we, the audience, know, Anne will stand by her decision. And when he finally did take his leap of faith, my heart went soaring, because I knew these two would be insanely happy. *sigh* DELIGHTFUL, just like the whole rest of the film!
Ifeoma, did you recognise your confetti quote? That is so on the dot! share
yes dear Coira, I recognized it. Love your use for it.
Wentworth's hesitating gave the scene an intensely romantic tension. You could feel how Anne willed him to take that leap of faith and let himself fall into that ring of fire all over again. This time, we, the audience, know, Anne will stand by her decision. And when he finally did take his leap of faith, my heart went soaring, because I knew these two would be insanely happy. *sigh* DELIGHTFUL, just like the whole rest of the film!
What astute analysis Coira. I love it. I totally agree that he is hesitating not because he is not deeply, maddly in love but because there is some fear there because of the past. Whoa...Coira, you just made the movie even more romantic for me. Ahhh...I think I will go view it again.
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Oops, I hadn't realized there was a thread on the KISS. I wrote my take on the kiss on Coira's thread, if anyone's interested.
shareI have to agree with the earlier poster that compared Anne to a fish, that is exactly what I was thinking. She looks like a goldfish gasping for air. The actor who plays Wentworth is wonderful in that role, however I really feel that the actress was totally miscast. If you look at many scenes she has her mouth open, almost as though her teeth are too big for her lips to cover them.
shareYou should watch Harry Hill's take on it: Is she going to kiss him, bite him, oo it's a kiss . . no a bite . . oh she's gone with the kiss. Lol.
He also points out the giant fingernail outside Kellynch Hall and the lady in the opening scene's who just stands there with an inkpot in her hands lol!
Yeah, what's up with the inkpot lady? Did they really have a servant who just stood there with an inkpot?
shareIf they did, then I highly doubt Anne Eliot would participate in the practice. I could probably understand having a servant walking around with her holding the ink, so she could keep writing. But to have her standing there? What, there are no tables around?
shareI was appalled by the kiss and came here to find this thread. I didn't think badly of Anne but how long it took for the Captain to kiss HER. In those days, I imagine kissing in public was not condoned. So, Anne must have had a great deal of patience while waiting for him to make his move.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
Interesting you should say that. Last night, at the special screening, I heard people all around saying they wished she'd close her mouth because it was very distracting. This was all through the movie.
shareRe: coiragrigione
I loved the kissing scene, it felt genuine and it was sooooo romantic. It did not ruin the film for me, on the contrary. It was moving.
The tear runnig down Anne's cheek , how poignant! I so felt her stake in this unexpected second chance for happiness. And Wentworth's hesitation as he was probably remembering that they had been at this point before but without a happy end. And then "THE kiss" which
makes you want to rip up the newspaper and turn it into confetti to spray around your room
I loved it!
Oh I soooo agree! I was leaning forward in my recliner whispering "Kiss her,Kiss her",LOL! I was afraid he wasn't going to go through with it!
The only complaint that I have with this movie is that I really had to suspend belief that such a 'Drop Dead GORGEOUS' man as Frederick Wentworth(Rupert Perry-Jones) would fall for such a 'plain-jane' as Anne Elliot(Sally Hawkins)! share
I'm gonna have to agree with the "fish" comparison other's have made. That's exactly how I felt about it. Sure, Wentworth's hesitation by your description was appropriate and could have enhanced the scene but it was made too long by Anne's gaping mouth and the whole thing was just painfully awkward.
shareI loved, it was sweet. I loved how they blocked out everyone around them.
sharecoiragrigione - I agree with the others, your analysis of why Wentworth was hesitating, just adds a whole new dimension to that scene. Thank you for your astute and clever observation and reasoning behind what he may have been thinking :) and why he was hesitating. Just makes me love him even more ! :)
shareIt was touching. simple, sweet, hesitant ... they hadn't been close for all those years. It was "fine."
shareThen again nobody does a kiss like Richard Armitage in North and South, now that is a kiss that can start a war(and I am sure it did and still does) []
haha you're right, no one can get one on Mr. Thornton.
And I have to say that while I understand the hesitation on the kiss, Anne's quivering jaw definitely made me laugh. share
ifeoma_6 - you just made me want to watch North and South, and I think I will ! :)
...nobody does a kiss like Richard Armitage in North and South, now that is a kiss that can start a war(and I am sure it did and still does)
...and make this viewer swoon. Then there's his voice...
"I think I'll have a large order of prognosis negative." share
"Then again nobody does a kiss like Richard Armitage in North and South, now that is a kiss that can start a war"
This!
I agree 100% :-)
As for this kiss I think what they were trying to achieve was the visualisation of Anne finally getting her man after so long and all the struggle with family etc... The kiss if you notice is all initiated by her. He doesn't even move...I think it was done on purpose to show that after all the struggle she gets there.
Fish gasping for air ... yes, that's exactly what I thought. Same words in fact, prior to reading yours. I do wish they had not changed this end scene so much - Austen's was SO good. I was SO MUCH looking forward to the speech, the frantic writing of the letter, the look!, the attempt at composure, the WALK up the street. All of it gone ... sigh ... I was disappointed. I don't mind A kiss being in the movie, but I do whole-heartedly agree that it should NOT have been on the public street in front of everyone. Can't we have these guys walk with them like a gentleman, then pull them into some secluded area like a lover? SIGH. That's what I think they would have done.
As for the kiss they did put in - I liked the tear, too. The hesitation was ridiculous. He was in just as much agony over separation as she was. Plus he's the GUY here, people. And why, oh why, did they have the camera angle on her chin, looking up into her mouth? With no shots whatsoever of Wentworth's feeling at the kiss?! Why is Anne the only one we're interested in when at last all is resolved? Gad!
And on another note, Rupert-Penry Jones was the PERFECT choice for this role. I didn't know he existed prior to seeing him walk in the room to be introduced to Anne. I almost screamed. I think I did scream. (Not like me, too.) He is EXACTLY what I pictured Wentworth to be. Maybe a little more tanned or weather-beaten in the face, but that's it. AHHH! I can't believe how stunning he is in this role. *raptures*
sparkle4513 I completely agree with you regarding - Rupert-Penry Jones being perfectly cast as Wentworth, he was so handsome and perfect as Wentworth, with his quiet sensitive demeanor.
It took too long......to drawn out and overly dramatic.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
She looked like a landed trout, gasping for air. Also NO ONE kissed in public, it simply wasn't done. Not even by whores. It was out of place and to modern for the time. I know they "
had to do it for modern viewers" but it should have been done in private and INSIDE.