A Colorblind Period Romance That Swoons But Doesn’t Seduce

The plot and twists of “Mr. Malcolm’s List” feel thoroughly modern — take out the Empire waist dresses and 1800s setting, and you’ve got a Julia Stiles rom-com from the early aughts — which makes sense, considering Allain’s novel was published in 2009. There’s a certain frothiness inherent in most contemporary Regency romance novels, with the period setting working to provide a layer of “class” to what are essentially redressed contemporary rom-coms. And for that reason — no matter the familiarity the writer has with the time period, no matter how much research they put in — there’s always a feeling of the “costume.” As if the story itself is playing dress-up in Austen’s clothes.

The 2019 short film adaptation of the same book, which acted as a sort of test run for the feature, had that “costume” feeling, with its entire appeal hanging around its casting of diverse actors in the leading parts (most of whom would reprise their roles in the film). But while the novelty of its colorblind casting has faded a little, the feature version of “Mr. Malcolm’s List” is a much more confident, thoroughly charming film that feels like it’s finally fitting in its clothes.

Much of the credit goes to its incredibly charismatic cast. Pinto and Dirisu are sweet and alluring together — if sometimes a little bland — and they deliver when it comes to the swooning, heart-fluttering moments that you come to expect with these period romances. But it’s the supporting leads who are the scene-stealers. Ashton and Jackson-Cohen are the ones who look like they’re having the most fun here, and perhaps it’s because they are the ones knowingly playing into the film’s more modern aspects: the cattiness, the silliness, the pratfalls. There’s only so much that colorblind casting can do to inject newness into a period romance, and Ashton and Jackson-Cohen — and to an extent, Theo James’ slightly smarmy romantic rival Captain Henry Ossory — know this, occasionally stepping outside of the lines of the stiff costume drama and throwing in a tiny bit of camp.