Post: Reactions to Daniel Deronda (closing soon)

On this thread, please post a reaction to, or an idea about, the film Daniel Deronda. You might consider one of the following topics:

1. a great moment from the film
2. a discussion of one of the key characters
3. a consideration of a major theme/issue in the novel
4. your thoughts on the conclusion of the film

I loved this movie! First of all, the movie was thrilling and attention grabbing, and everything a great movie should be. O yes and how can i forget the best part of the movie, DANIEL! His character brought so many things to the movie that only further helped the movie acheieve greatness...plus he wasnt exactly hard on the eyes! Through his character we are able to see the true side of people. Most of the characters in the movie..(minus grandcourt and lush) confide in Dan and are able to express their true selves. In a way, Dan has the certain effect on people that makes them emotionally vunerable in his presence. By far the best part in the movie was when grandcourt flung Gwen on the bed. CLASSIC! It was so intense yet so funny, and she got exactly what she deserved! This was a fantastic movie but im not sure how i feel about the ending. I definately didnt want him to end up with gwen....but i didnt really want him to end up with Mirah either....so ya, im not sure what i wanted Dan to do....but for lack of a better one, this ending was great.

Im definately reading the book!

The film was pretty good. However, I hated the ending. Don't get me wrong, I dislike Gwen just as much as everyone else, but Mirah was Han's love interest. I felt Daniel was out of line when he did that. He could have at least encouraged Han to go after Mirah and then after Han failed, Daniel can go ask Mirah to marry him. Also, the other characters in the movie did not get included in the ending. What happened to all of them? I don't like them that much, but I would still like to know their ending too.

I felt that the conclusion of the film was just in a realistic sense, but unexpected from a Hollywood point of view. I guess it makes sense since George Eliot wrote about real life and not the ideals, but stilll, it was quite disappointing to see how the ending unfolded. The turning point was the death of Grandcourt and it seemed that Gwendolen was finally liberated from her marriage and could finally get with Daniel, but instead he goes for Mirah. Not only that, but characterizing Daniel as the sensitive, aware-type does not justify why he marries Mirah at all. Considering that his best friend Hans was in love with her, I thought that Daniel would at least have the heart to spare his friend some hope. As for the fate of Gwendolen, it seemed too serene. I mean, the guy who she hated, but was married to, had just died before her eyes and she was somewhat responsible for it. I know that Daniel told her that she wasn't a murderer, but that guilt, combined with the rejection from Daniel, would most likely cause a normal person to go insane, or at least temporary shock. I also didn't expect the ending to be so focused on Daniel's Jewish heritage, because it seemed as primarily a love story, yet jumps into a huge religious revival type of thing near the end. Overall, the movie was great, but the ending could have been better. Even with those events unfolding, I thought that the direction of revealing the climax could have been better, because it seemed a bit rushed towards the very end.

The ending was not your traditional ending. Most people expected Gwendolen and Daniel to marry and live happily ever after, but that is not the case with this story. The ironic thing is that Daniel did the same thing to Gwendolen as she did to him, but for opposite reasons. Gwendolen marries Grandcourt for financial reasons even though she knew that Daniel had admired her at that point of the story. You could see the disappointment in Daniel when the marriage occured. Towards the end, Daniel marries Mirah even though he knew that Gwendolen loved him. I dont think this is an act of revenge, but rather pure irony. Karma is also seen here because Gwendolen becomes the one left out by a marriage.

The ending suprised me alittle. I agree with one of the critics about Daniel's character being too good to be true. I just can't seem to think that someone would leave everything and become a "leader" like that. I mean, what is he trying to do anyway? How is he planning on helping his people? I am also upset with his choice in marriage...I was hoping he'd marry gwen, she had much bigger...personality

I was disapointed in the ending of Daniel Deronda. Although I must compliement you Mr. Kelso in finding a chick flick that I actually enjoyed. I was not happy with the climax of the story being the death for Grandcourt even though it was pretty funny seeing him bob around in the water. I was hoping for an intense battle between Deronda and Grandcourt with swords, guns, or even lances over Gwendolen, but it never came. I was also rooting for Deronda and Gwendolen to get together in the end for two reasons. First of all I hated seeing Grandcourt be happy and anything against his wishes would have pleased me. The other is if she had married Deronda that would have probably held off any further crying by Gwendolen which is probably more painful for the viewer than for her. All in all, it was a great story with amazing characters that were very well cast and I hope there are more good movies to come.

In many ways, this film changed certain outlooks in my life. I was a freshman when I first watched it and immediately, I became enthralled with the characters and storyline. It gave me a different perspective on things. From then on I payed more attention to films (in general), but also the directing and acting aspect of it.
I even decided to write a story (which I still have) and theres no coincidence that the main characters were named Daniel [Parvenu], Guineverre [Lacrimane] and Mordecai. Even though my story was somewhat different, Daniel Deronda was a major influence.

..a great moment from the film:

I had several favorite parts back then that when I watch now, brought back memories. One of them was when Daniel goes to Mordecai's bookshop and picks up a book at random and it turns out to be a book about the history of Jews. Mordecai is startled and knows that something 'special' has happened: Was it by chance that Daniel picked this book? What brought Daniel to him when there were other stores to choose from? I also loved the scene when Daniel sees his mother for the first time. The interior of the room, and the positioning of their seating was perfect for that shot. Both Daniel and the audience are in suspense. We have no idea who the mother will be or what stories and news she holds. Plus, a scene that really stands out was when Gwendolen gets her necklace back. As she holds it, she turns around and sees Daniel, and they both glance at one another. All while the carriage leaves the estate.

I LOVED THE ENDING! I was SO happy that he chose Mirah instead of Gwendolen. Ah - I did NOT like her. She was so stuck up and so cocky and ARGH~! I can't stand people like that. I thought it was hillarious when she got that letter from Linda and she freaked out. Of course I felt aweful when she was 'raped' by Grandcourt - no one deserves that. But i was so happy for Mirah!

I love the scene where Gwendolen and Grandcourt were in the water. I thought Grandcourt got he deserved and Gwen as well. I wished she would've died, but oh well. I hated how Gwen kept saying she'd change herself and that she wanted to show Daniel what an aweful life she had and what-not. It all sounded like she wanted attention and wanted pity. I'm sorry if I am wrong, but thats what it looked like.

I thought Grandcort's death was an excellent scene from the movie. It was affective in every way. I loved how the film makers captured Gwendelen during the whole event. Her narration on her praying that Mr. Grandcort would die went perfectly with the swinging of the boom and the splash of his body hitting the water. Gwendelen's reaction to Grandcort's fall was most believable. Her hesitation was just long enough for the audience to sense that her lingering was definately intentional. Once Grandcort submerges, you see Gwendelen's face change as she realizes what she has done. Overcome with second thoughts she jumps into the water. The sudden reappearance of Grandcort boldly in front of Gwendelen's face was affective in that it startled the audience, making the scene even more dramatic. Lastly, the shot of Grandcort floating on his back, with his feet amongst Gwendelen's floating dress emphasized and reinforced the life altering scene.

One of the most vivid scenes for me was Grandcourts death. All through out the movie there are images of water and it made sense why when his death occured through drowning. Its such a good scene, because first off she has the chance to save him but hesitates also i found it somewhat funny that all that was still floating was his cigar, which to me just showed what a bland and plain character he was in the film and how he wasn't important enough to have a huge dramatic death.

First I have to say congrats, Kelso, great movie choice! I loved how it was attention-grabbing and people were really able to get into it. I thought a major theme in the story was materialism and social class. Gwen obviously married Grandcord for the money, and it was because of her own selfishness and desperation for a high status that she ended up living an unhappy and unfulfilling life. Mirah and Daniel's (MMM) relationship proves the fact that money and status cannot buy happiness. Though Duronda is a well off Englishman, learning his Jewish nature makes his class lower. He and Mirah are perfectly happy together despite their lack of material power. I loved the ending and was personally glad that he didn't end up with Gwen.

"Goodman" is slightly perverted by the way.

Also, Daniel is definitley the Burberry man.
http://www.fan-sites.org/hugh-dancy/gallery/albums/photoshoots/normal_burberry06.jpg

The conclusion of the movie was very uneventful, even though it seemed to tie in everything, I think there should have been more action or drama. I think that Gwendolen should have over reacted when she found out that Daniel is marrying Mirah and plotted a way to kill Mirah. I was also wondering what had happened to Lush, I think he should have some how tried to plot a revenge towards Gwendolen because Grandcourt died. I'm surprised there wasn't a lawsuit or anything suspicions from other people about Grandcourts death. Overall, the movie was very fun to watch and like what Mr. Kelso says, the setting is very realistic and Victorian. I like how the setting was consistent throughout the whole movie.

I was really shocked and disappointed when I first saw the ending for the movie. I didn't want Daniel to stay with Mirah; I think he would've been better with Gwendolen but then at the same time, I don't think she deserves him. It really surprised me how Gwendolen just stood there and accepted the fact that Daniel was going to marry Mirah. I was expecting her to fight back and try to win him over. The best would have been if Daniel found someone else who was like Gwendolen but treated him better.

I guess it was for the best because it seems as if Gwendolen was willing to change her overall attitude and personality. The last scene where she is walking through the field with her sisters seems like at the moment she was trying to enjoy the simplicities in life and try to no longer take things for granted. She finally realized just how spoiled she was acting and how other people suffered because of the bad choices she's made. I think she will focus more on becoming a nicer person and try to help others instead of thinking so much about her own problems.

I love that the dark horse won! Daniel had a deeper connection (heritage, morals) with Mirah than with Gwen. I felt his interactions with Gwen were limited to her complaints about the life she created for herself and his sympathy for her. Being intrigued with her face is not the basis of a strong relationship...she was arrogant to assume that he would want to marry her anyway.
(sidebar: Grandcourt+Uncontrollable sail=karmic bitchslap. p.s. keep your friggin diamonds)

p.s.

Melissa you are awesome, thank you for that beautiful picture!

I loved the movie Daniel Deronda. Am I biased because he is ridiculously handsome? Yes. Although I enjoyed the story and think that I will go read it now and discover whatever happened to creepy old Lush. Although, who is the true Lush? Remember when he comforted the cocker spaniel when Grandcourt was kicking it around?
Gwendolen was a disappointment. At the beginning of the movie she was a strong character who was the rebel girl luring in all the guys. When she was with Grandcourt, she slowly lost her touch and bowed down to him. Although I understand that during that time she could not slap him in the face or make an obscene hand gesture at him, as many would do today in modern society. This represents the theme of struggling women during that time period. Another example of this would be the Contessa who had an unhappy marriage and just wanted to sing.

My sister told me about this movie when she took this class about 3 years ago, and since then, I've looked forward to watching Daniel Deronda in Mr. Kelso's class. It was so magical, and it lived up to my high expectation of Mr. Kelso's awesome British movie selection. He always chooses he best movies to watch.

Anyways, I really liked the "love connection" between Gwen and Daniel, even though they didn't follow through on that. I thought it was a really interesting story because the two most prominent characters were actually very disconnected in terms of the plot. I thought George Eliot did a really great job of keeping the story together, but separate at the same time. Although, if it were up to me, I would've left out a few characters, and just have Dan and Gwen get together in the end. But really, the conflict and emotional anguish between the two really create such a great story. I'm just sad that there ended up being no action between them at all. I was expecting at least one kiss.

I like the ending of the Daniel Doranda. I felt that Gwendolen got exactly what she deserved, though the ending for her is a bit ambiguous. I feel that Grandcourt is very suitable for Gwendolen because he is someone who can actually control the ostentatious and self-centered woman, and Daniel would be too gentle for Gwen. I think the movie could have done a better job at developing the relationship between Daniel and Mirah. Because in the end when Daniel finally decides to do something, it almost seems like he only proposed because Hans told him that Mirah is love with Daniel, and it gave me an impression that he didn’t actively want to be with her. It was a bit of a surprise that Daniel didn’t end up with Gwendolen because they seem to be drawn to each other and in fact really wanted to be with each other. But I am glad that Daniel didn’t marry Gwendolen because they are not suitable for each other, for instance Gwendolen will completely dominate Daniel and he probably doesn’t know how to say no to her, and that imbalance of power is not suitable. For the most part I was satisfied with the ending, glad of what happened.

I think the ending of the movie is disappointing. I thought Gwendolen was going to end up with Daniel, because there seems to be a stronger chemistry between them in comparison to that of Daniel and Mirah's. Even though Gwendolen doesn't deserve to be with Daniel, I feel that Daniel can change her and make her a better person. I didn't like Mirah's rejection to Hans, he is such a nice person, and his sincerity shouldn't be just ignored. But I was satisfied about Grandcourt's death. He is so evil, and he wins in every situation. It's good to see that he's not so invincible in water.

I suppose that the ending of the film achieved everything that it set out to, and that all of the characters ultimately got what they deserved, but I just didn't like it. Daniel should have ended up with Gwendolen! There was more chemistry between them, I guess I am just a sucker for the pretty people being with each other. Plus, Daniel saved Mirah when she was trying to commit suicide, doesn't that say anything about her character? I guess that they have that deeper Jewish bond, but I still think that Gwendolen would have continued to change for Daniel, and they could have had a magical life together.

Im soorry but any woman who wouldnt throw themselves at the sight of daniels beautifully enticing eyes, perfect lips, and gorgeous hair, must have onnee hotttttt boyfriend!!! I cant even stand it, first of all i think gwendelon is a nasty little bi........ im so glad that daniel didnt pick her, she thought she had control over every man in the room...which might have been true but anyone who got to know her realized she was a self interested, pathetic girl her victimized herself, and who i found quite boring because i felt she was so repetitive (every word coming out of her mouth was, ohh im not good enough, dont i deserve everything....or the classic oh daniel will you ever forgive me)he should have said NO and slapped her in the face. I lost ineterest in her after she married Grandcourt who by the way were the PERFECT match, and i really wish she would have committed suicide. Besides the fact that daniel is devilishly goodlooking, his character was incredibly kind, i loved the fact that he stood out from the rest of his high class equals, he had real personality, and wanted to find out his purpose in life and who he truly was...which is a very admirable quality which many people dont posess or are too scared of life to take that risk. Im really happy that he married the very sweet Mirah i just wish she was a little more lively i just have a feeling she wont be able to please Daniels adventurous spirit. I also liked the correlation between Mirah and teh Contessa, that was really neat that they both endowed similarities in life and talents, but the fact vthat mirah embraced her past where as contessa shamed her origins. I really enjoyed this movie!!!! YAY

im defenitly going to read the novel...

one more side comment: what an idiot gwendolen was if i had daniel alone in a room i defenitly would NOT pass the time with small talk. ; )

The gratest moment in the film definetly has to be the scene where Gwendylyn is riding away in her carriage and she opens up her little package and finds the turquoise necklace she had pawned inside, and then she looks back and see's Daniel disappear in the crowd as her carriage pulls away... yeah, that's when I knew he was the one

This film was just AMAZING! soooo good! It is so well made and has everything a film should have. I thought the ending was the most perfect ending, it was unexpected, yet realistic. What makes a movie good is making sure the viewers don't expect the ending. In this film, I actually expected Daniel to marry Gwendolen at first but then I thought about Mirah and how her relationship with Daniel differs from the relationship Gwendolen and Daniel had. Then I figured, Gwendolen and Daniel wouldn't end up together, he is way too good for her and even though she changes for the better throughout the film, she really doesn't deserve him. When I saw the ending and realized Daniel had asked Mirah to marry him, it just made me happy, it felt like it was the right thing to do and the perfect decision for him to make. Of course the fact that he found out he was jewish had to do with his decision but it was definitely love there.
Great choice Kelso. THANKS!

I really enjoyed this movie, although, I didn’t really like the ending. I kind of expected Daniel to fall in love with Mirah, but I really didn’t want him to. Also, I thought it was weird that Daniel asked Mirah to marry him when his best friend Hans was deeply in love with her. Hans even admitted to having dreams about Mirah, so I think in the future things might get a little awkward between the three of them. I understand that Daniel’s religion became very important to him in the end, but I felt as if he was rushing into marriage with the first Jewish girl he met.

Also, I didn’t really like how Gwendolen was left with nothing but a changed attitude. I don’t really know what I expected besides that, but it just felt like something was missing. Overall, though, the movie was very good and I enjoyed almost every second of it.

I must admit this is one of the best movies .. Thank you Mr. Kelso =]

The ending was quite disappointing for me, although you can see that Daniel has developed feelings for Mirah, I didn't want the to choose her in the end. I must admit it is a bit wrong for him to propose to her, since one of his best friends, Hans, is madly in love with her. Even though Gwendolen is a spoiled woman, I still wanted her to end up with Daniel in the end. If the ending was to remain how it is, I would have like to see Gwendolen commit suicide and have Daniel reconsider his proposal to Mirah. Maybe it would have revealed his true feelings or some complicated ending. Or I would have liked to see Gwendolen get pregnant with Grandcourt's child, and have Daniel assist in raising the child . Simply having Gwendolen accept Daniel's choice of wife, didn't seem satisfying. Other then that, and the fact that Gwendolen lost all her confidence and "I get whatever I desire" attiutude when she was with Grandcourt, I loved every moment of this movie.