The 'beauteous' Jennifer Ehle

First of all, a belated happy birthday to Rosemary Harris, who turned 81 years young yesterday. We wish her all the best.

Yesterday was also Day 1 of the ten-day Jane Austen Festival in Bath, UK. Some of the 29 events have sold out, but if you fancy promenades, soirees and putting on a bonnet, it is definitely the place to go. If you can't make this year though, despair not - the dates for next year have already been finalised.

On the review table today...

Michael H. Kleinschrodt of The Times-Picayune liked Rains, but would like to have seen even more of it:

[...] Before the Rains features elegant visual details, but the story seems rushed in a film that stretches just past the 90-minute mark. More time for character development would have been welcome. Still, the story is compelling and the performances are moving. [...]

The Winston-Salem Journal (providing a nice still, left) are justifiably proud of their 'native' in their brief summing up of Rains, while the DVD release has prompted a few more thoughts from the public:

The only Blockbuster to comment thus far said the following...

[...] Was a great movie! Kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Highly recommended! [...]

There is also a barrage of niceties from Amazonian number 3:

[...] It's exquisite to look at, while actually boasting a plot that moves right along, and stars some gorgeous people giving us a passionate, moving story of a mature interracial love affair. ...

The beauteous Jennifer Ehle turns in a restrained performance as [wife] Laura. ... Rahul Bose turns in a thoughtful performance as TK Neelan, a resident of the local village, caught between his respect for the past [and] the always reliable veteran John Standing is Charles Humphries, a grandee of the local expat English community. ... The beautiful Nandita Das is [also] stunning as Sajani. ...

Add a star if you are a particular fan of the Raj; and, whatever you do, keep the tissues handy. [...]

Similarly, Art and Tea 'really enjoyed' the film:

[...] It was a bit melodramatic but I loved every minute of it. Beautiful to watch. So lush and vivid. [...]

In other areas, a few last Toronto pieces are popping up. The Irish Voice wonder whether 'Pride will earn Glory', summing up some of the not-so-happy past reviews but refusing to take them as gospel. Meanwhile, Premiere found Pride and Glory 'competent' and 'slick' but 'predictable', and the Metro's surprised Steve Gow has placed it top in his 'This Is Going to Suck, But Didn’t' category:

[...] With amazing performances from Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and even Jon Voight, this honest and gripping story about a family of New York City cops who get tied up in a case of corruption was shockingly engaging. [...]

Elsewhere on the web, the CM Lit Fest blog have a nice still of JE Snr reading from his book, Trail of Tears at the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival, one of two listed appearances made by the author at the event. A reminder that six books of John Ehle's can be purchased on Amazon.

Lastly, did you see Pride and Glory at the TIFF? Have you ordered Before the Rains and are itching to talk about it? Or maybe you haven't seen either, you just want to! Whichever, please feel free to drop into our Forum or Chat Extension. As always, we'd love to hear from you.