Over the years, the cultural importance of historical or period dramas has stood the test of time. From Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice to Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, period pieces have captivated generations. Many of these stories focus on the hardships women have faced for years as they navigate society life and romance. The costumes are astounding, the plots are engrossing, and the performances are incredibly emotionally powerful. If you don’t have tears in your eyes by the end of 2020’s Emma, did you even watch it?
Because of the genre’s continued success, creators are starting to think outside of the box. The story of a young woman who doesn’t want to get married has been done countless times (Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Bridgerton, etc). However, in 2022 writers and directors really started putting their own spin on these tales. Audiences saw a huge influx of historical comedies about the escapades of young women. Most also shifted to fit modern times by adding the popular fourth wall break that really became popular in the show Fleabag. They also began including more modern music either in its original form or arranged into a classical composition to keep some of the historic charms.
There were three standout historic comedies with women leads this year. In September Catherine Called Birdy premiered globally on Amazon Prime Video. Written and directed by Lena Dunham, the story is an adaptation of Karen Cushman’s book of the same name. I absolutely loved this movie. It was funny, heartwarming, and had such an amazing cast. I thought the inclusion of fourth wall breaks and modern music was really well done and made the film even more fun. If you’re going to watch any historic comedy from this year, this is it.
In October, Rosaline premiered on Hulu. Loosely based on the story of Romeo and Juliet, the film is instead focused on Rosaline, Romeo’s ex. Directed by Karen Maine, and starring the impeccable Kaitlyn Dever, it was a fun romp through old Italy. I thought the performances were great and loved the classic compositions of songs like “All By Myself”. It didn’t have any fourth wall breaking, but there were plenty of modern jokes throughout. While I didn’t like it as much as Catherine Called Birdy, it was still enjoyable.
Finally, in late October, Enola Holmes 2 was released. My least favorite on the list, this film was directed by our only male director, Harry Bradbeer. While I actually found the sequel better than the original, I don’t think it stood up to its competitors. At its core, it was a genuinely interesting mystery, but I found the execution kind of boring. I actually paused it halfway through to go run an errand and then didn’t remember till the next day that I had been watching it. Not a great sign. I found the fourth wall breaks unfunny and way less interesting than the others. I will give it credit that the sets and costumes were great and I thought the relationships between Enola, Sherlock, and Tewksbury were all adorable.
So far I’m really enjoying this new wave of self-aware historical comedy and I hope to see some more amazing stories told this way. I love these stories about young women’s lives and think female directors bring them to life like no other.