Do you long for a Regency romance in which a group of lovely people flirt, send mixed messages, and hatch plans for love, revenge, or marriage? Well, you don’t have to wait for the next season of “Bridgerton” or a new Jane Austen adaptation: the trailer for “Mr. Malcolm’s List” has arrived. It sees a young woman “without fortune or prospects,” and without a desire to marry for convenience, agreeing to help her jilted friend get even with an arrogant Mr. Darcy type — and unexpectedly falling for him.
Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto, “Slumdog Millionaire”) travels to London at the behest of her pal Julia (Zawe Ashton, “The Handmaid’s Tale”). Julia was rejected and publicly humiliated by Mr. Jeremy Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, “Gangs of London”), who she later discovered has “a list of qualifications for a bride” that she did not meet. Julia wants Mr. Malcolm to get a taste of his own medicine, and that’s where Selina comes in.
“If we present you as the perfect woman, then he discovers he does not meet the requirements on Your list,” Julia explains to her friend, “that would be a perfect sort of poetic justice.”
Selina agrees, but she finds that Mr. Malcolm is actually a good friend. Meanwhile, the titular gentleman himself is realizing he’s been using his list as “a shield.” “You did not want to give your heart to a woman unworthy,” he is told.
“Mr. Malcolm’s List” is directed by Emma Holly Jones and based on screenwriter Suzanne Allain’s novel and Black List script. Jones and Allain previously collaborated on a short film version of “Mr. Malcolm’s List,” starring Pinto, Dìrísù, and Gemma Chan (“Eternals”). As we reported in the original report, the short and the feature used color-conscious casting to reclaim historical narratives that are often populated by white characters such as Jane Austen’s stories.
Jones previously helmed the shorts “They Grow Up,” “Everything Carries Me to You,” and “Dreams Play Apart.” Pinto counts “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “The Path” among her best-known credits.
“Mr. Malcolm’s List” hits theaters July 1.
Source: Women And Hollywood