Northanger Abbey - Movie Adaptations Ranked

Northanger Abbey 

This is just a fun story.  You can see Austen wrestling with what makes a story a good story, what novels are really about, and whether they have value.  (When Austen was writing books, novels were not considered valuable as compared to serious books on subjects such as history, etc.)  Northanger Abbey is fun, it's youthful and Henry Tilney is a great character.

1. Northanger Abbey 2007  with J.J. Field

            Oh my goodness I love this version.  I love the chemistry between J.J. Field and Felicity Jones.  You believe that Catherine is young and a bit fanciful but not in an irritating way, as they portray her in some other versions.  I love that Henry is teasing but not irritating or creepily mysterious in this version.  The characters all feel like people in this adaptation, and that's my favorite thing about stories.  I know, I'm crazy.

I think Miss Thorpe is perfect in her role.  She is boy crazy and scheming in a totally charming way that would draw anyone not incredibly suspicious in.  You can see why Catherine falls into a friendship with her and why the poor brother James cannot see he's being toyed with by her.  I love that we see Catherine being angry with her after she's found out how poorly Miss Thorpe has treated her brother James.

Actually, everyone is perfect in this version.  Mrs. Morland is really cute in this.  She understands her daughter and her strengths and weaknesses well.  She's caring, but not bling to Catherine's general silliness.  She's supportive and strong.  I love her character in this movie.

Mr. and Mrs. Morland have a quick conversation about whether Catherine reads too many novels.  I adore that we see them being concerned and active parents without being overbearing.  I love that it allows us to both discuss and foreshadow the problem of novels.  Reading them is fine, but starting to see fanciful and dreadful things in life that aren't there, simply because you think you are living in a novel, is a problem.  I love that we see Catherine growing up and it's at a believable pace even in such a short movie.  It's charming to see her teaching her younger siblings about the lessons she has learned.

I do enjoy watching poor Henry's family.  The older brother is insufferably vain and unpleasant.  The father is commanding and imperious and frighteningly unpleasant.  You totally understand why Catherine thinks he may have murdered his wife, he feels cold and almost violent.

I love Catherine.  She's still young and fanciful but she's not so irritatingly young that it's hard to watch.  She is curious and enthusiastic and I love her this way.  I adore the scene where she frightens herself looking at old papers in her room with the thunder outside.  The next morning when she discovers that they are laundry lists she is so disappointed and it's so cute.

Oh, and all the scenes that come after General Tilney has left are lovely.  The falling in love montage, over apple picking, apple roasting, and the race to see his home in the rain on horseback is so perfect.  The way that Mr. Tilney gently lifts Catherine off the horse and reverently touches her face to remove the mud.... well, it defies words because your heart is too busy melting to form coherent sentences.  It's perfection.  I love this movie entirely.

Mr. Tilney as played by J.J. Field is entirely too amazing.  I'm not capable of mustering enough praise for him.  He teases, but he is not unkind.  He is a little bit outside of convention but still is a gentleman.  He is tender and patient.  He doesn't use her silliness to his advantage, he instructs her.  It's all so tender.

I really can't recommend this movie enough.  I had seen the older version and never thought to watch it again until I went to write this post.  This 2007 adaptation is so lovely that it has become one of my favorites to rewatch.

2. Northanger Abbey 1987

             I watched this for the first time one summer afternoon with my mother.  Neither of us knew anything about it, hadn't read the book, or seen another adaptation.  It was so odd.  I didn't like the portrayal of Mr. Tilney or Catherine.   I loved the scene with everyone in the baths with their bonnets on and full-length bathing costumes on while they paraded slowly through the bath waters with floating trays of bath salts in front of them.  It was delightfully weird and awkward.  I loved it.  But, as much as I loved that scene, I was equally horrified by the "Gothic" dreams that Catherine has in this one.  The scene with the lady sewing her fingers together still haunts me in an active way.

One of Catherine's creepy Gothic dreams

 I watched this for the first time one summer afternoon with my mother and we were not prepared for it.  At the time neither of us knew anything about the story, hadn't read the book, or seen another adaptation.  We had expected something feeling like Pride and Prejudice.  We got this.  It was so odd.

             I didn't like the portrayal of Mr. Tilney, he was creepy, or Catherine who I also felt was weird and creepy.  I would not rewatch this version except for one single scene.

             The one scene I particularly like in this adaptation is the bathing scene.  Everyone is in the baths with their bonnets on and full-length bathing costumes on while they parade slowly through the bath waters chatting with friends socially with floating trays in front of them.  I believe they contain aromatic plants and perfumes.  It was delightfully weird and awkward.  I loved it.

             But, as much as I loved that scene, I was equally horrified by the "Gothic" dreams that Catherine has in this one.  The scene with an old lady sewing her fingers together still haunts me to this day.  I have actually had my own Gothic nightmares about it.  So I'm not a fan of this particular adaptation.

       I much prefer the 2007 Northanger Abbey with a portrayal of Catherine as a more normal girl who is in love with novels and fanciful plots.  She is reading Gothic romances and exploring the idea of sexuality.  It's way less creepy feeling than the "Gothic" dreams in this version that I think of as more fitting to the horror genre.  Or perhaps I should just say that the dream sequences are way too intense and creepy for me.  This isn't what I go looking for in a Jane Austen movie.

I have found at least one person who loves this older version.  But even she admits that it has its foibles.  In fact, I think she likes it precisely because of all its melodramatic foibles.  She is right, the proposal line that Mr. Tilney has, telling Catherine that "since you left us the white rose bush has died of grief," is super romantic.  You can check out her post about Northanger Abbey and her beautiful themed soap here.

Other Versions? 

As far as I know, these are the only two film adaptations of Northanger Abbey that exist.  If I am wrong, please do let me know.

To see my ranking of Every Jane Austen Adaptation, go here.
For my discussion of all the Pride and Prejudice adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Persuasion Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Emma Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Sense and Sensibility Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Mansfield Park Adaptations, you can go here.

For my discussion of the Lady Susan Adaptation (Love and Friendship), you can go here. 
For my discussion of all the "Not-Quite-Austen's" you can go here.

I have a whole page dedicated to Jane Austen where you can find my rankings of different movie adaptations and essays etc.

All Things Jane Austen