Mansfield Park's Blake Ritson

Try as I might, I am having a hard time finding solid information on Blake Ritson. This leads me to the conclusion that this young actor's turn as the staid Edmund Bertram was highly successful, and that people are mistaking him for Edmund.

Since the movie was shown in England and Canada, no fan clubs for him have sprouted up; no websites devoted to everything that Blake did, ate, or breathed exist. He is still, well, largely unknown.

• Tara Fleur does offer a number of Blake Ritson icons.

• Find Blake as Edmund Bertram icons here.
  

• And here is a Blake Ritson ITV interview for A Touch of Frost

• A little while back I found a link to Blake as a voice over actor.

• And this feeder site collects information on all things Blake Ritson.

• Blake Ritson as Justin Smart in The League of Gentlemen

• Scandal and Schooling at the Old Vic
  

As we wait or tonight's viewing of Mansfield Park with Blake Ritson and Billie Piper, I would like to direct you to these links:

An excellent review and discussion about the movie on Palimpsest. I can't quibble with any of Colynbourne's observations. In the review, she quotes Blake as saying about Edmund:

He doesn't wear well by modern standards...we've made him more playful, he's sillier, he drinks more - he's a lot less priggish and self-righteous than the original. All of us were keen not to be corseted by the decorum of the time.

Erm, isn't the novel supposed to be set in the "decorum of the time?"

Here's a recent opinion about the movie offered by Matthew Gilbert of Boston.com

Most of the reviews for Mansfield Park are negative, and yet the movie as a stand alone, without a connection to Jane Austen, is light and engaging. I think we will see a huge division of opinion about this adaptation between those who know Mansfield Park backwards and forwards, and those who are introduced to the novel for the first time via this production.

Below is a scene from a short 12-minute film that Blake and his brother Dylan directed, Out of Time. The film's plot is: "Charlie is in trouble -- he has woken up to discover that his mouth is moving out of sync with his words. We follow his race to find a cure, attend a meeting, and patch up things with his girlfriend - all whilst trying to hide the bizzare affliction. A surreal, modern allegory about love, lies, and the dangers of false advertising.

Posted by Ms. Place