MR. MALCOLM’S LIST

Director: Emma Holly Jones

2022, 115min., PG

Screenwriter: Suzanne Allain

Cast: Freida Pinto, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Sope Dirisu, Zawe Ashton, Theo James, Ashley Park

 

Among the upper crust in 1800s London, Mr. Malcolm (Sope Dirisu) reigns as the most eligible bachelor: witty, well-off, and handsome to boot. Unfortunately, he knows it, and to find a perfect match, he creates a list of necessary attributes for his would-be bride. When Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton) doesn’t check every box on the list, she is quickly sent packing. Instead of allowing herself to be humiliated, she plots revenge – persuading her impoverished friend Selia Dalton (Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire) to pretend to be the absolute embodiment of Mr. Malcolm’s infamous list. In this amusing nod to Jane Austen with a wonderfully diverse cast, women have agency and use whatever power they may have to make their own choices about their lives. The evocative landscapes of Selia’s countryside home were filmed in Ireland.

“First-time filmmaker Emma Holly Jones spins a lush, lavish, and quite frisky tale, presenting a fresh twist on the Regency Era comedy.” – Kate Erbland, IndieWire.