Mr. Malcolm’s List: The Movie Every Jane Austen Fan Will Love
Filled with afternoon teas, strolls through the park, big dresses, horse-drawn carriages, and gentlemen tipping their hats, Mr. Malcolm’s List is the summer ‘girl’s night’ movie that every fan of Jane Austen will love — and there can never be too many Austen-inspired films, wouldn’t you agree?
The story goes…
Set in 1818 England and based on a novel of the same name, penned by Suzanne Allain, this sweet summer movie takes audiences along for a fun, whimsical, romantic ride. When Miss Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton), a wealthy young lady is courted by Mr. Malcolm (Sope Dirisu), an even wealthier, mysterious, Darcy-esque fellow, things don’t go according to her plan — which, of course, was to secure a suitor in him and eventually marry.
Alas, Julia’s lackluster, uninformed conversation at the opera leaves much to be desired, and Mr. Malcolm bids her adieu with no intention of escorting her to another opera again, let alone anywhere else. However, this leaves Julia publicly humiliated, as this is her fourth unsuccessful courting season (the horror!).
Julia, curious, spoiled, and immature, simply must know why she didn’t win Mr. Malcom’s affection. Upon prying, she discovers that Mr. Malcolm has a list of 10 qualities his future wife must possess, and she failed at number 4: “Converses in a sensible fashion.”
Julia is stung and immediately concocts a plan to exact revenge, recruiting her longtime, country-mouse friend, Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto). Julia schemes to mold Selina into the “perfect” wife, according to Mr. Malcolm’s list, get him to fall in love with her, and eventually break his heart by presenting him with a list of ‘husband requirements,’ which he falls short of.
Selina, while secretly of humble means and lower social status, is intelligent, witty, beautiful, and thoughtful — immediately drawing Mr. Malcolm in without much effort. Soon enough, Selina goes off-script and begins to fall for Mr. Malcolm herself. But can Mr. Malcolm and Miss Dalton have a happily ever after?
Why you’ll love Mr. Malcolm’s List…
There are a few ingredients required to please Austen fans: romance, tea, wit, the English countryside, drama, pretty dresses, strong female characters, and a lovely soundtrack; Mr. Malcolm’s List has all of these things.
The story is obviously entertaining, the acting enjoyable, and the costumes beautiful, but perhaps the most wonderful thing about the film is how it delivers exactly what it promises — there is no attempt to reinvent the wheel, throw audiences off its scent, or turn its genre upside-down.
Instead, Mr. Malcolm’s List stays faithful to the genre that generations have adored, revisited, and reimagined for years — its creators, writer Suzanne Allain and director Emma Holly Jones, knew there was a reason audiences continued to come back to stories like Pride and Prejudice and Emma and chose to offer up another rendition of this beloved genre, with just a few modern twists acting as contemporary garnishes to a classic meal.
For that, we’ll happily recommend Mr. Malcolm’s List to every Austen fan or group of ladies looking for a heartwarming, funny, sweet, charming movie to spend a summer night watching.
