Warning: This post contains spoilers for Mr. Malcolm’s List
Mr. Malcolm’s List’s Regency era has one big Bridgerton and Jane Austen difference. There are plenty of Regency period stories and the genre has been perfected over the years thanks to adaptations of Austen's Emma, Becoming Jane, and other notable films in the genre. Mr. Malcolm’s List — directed by Emma Holly Jones from a screenplay by Suzanne Allain, who adapted the script from her novel of the same name — joins a plethora of movies that are set in the Regency era, with all of its stringent elite society rules and dramatic tension.
Mr. Malcolm’s List shares an abundance of similarities with Jane Austen’s novels (and subsequent film adaptations) and Bridgerton, as well as several others. The setting, the miscommunication, the pining, a serious leading man who guards his heart above all else, a charming leading lady who can outwit said leading man, and the stuffiness of London’s high society, which is as much a character in Regency stories as anything else. However, the biggest difference — and one that sets it apart from Austen’s work and Bridgerton, in particular — is that Mr. Malcolm’s List’s plot is somewhat mean-spirited in that Julia Thistlewaite’s response to being slighted is not on par with the slight itself.
Julia is embarrassed after discovering she’s literally become a caricature in a local society paper. This isn’t a bad thing — her reputation has taken a hit, after all, and she acts accordingly. However, her immediate response is to seek revenge on Mr. Malcolm, to publicly humiliate him like she perceives he did her, which is exacerbated after discovering a list of requirements he has for a wife. What’s more, Julia’s hurt pride and ego pushes her to masquerade as her friend, Selina Dalton, who has fallen in love with Mr. Malcolm, in a bid to ridicule and belittle him despite Selina’s protests later on. While the issues are ultimately resolved, the central plot take things in a different direction than its Regency counterparts, leaning into its plot instead of building tension through other means.
There is a lot of charm throughout Mr. Malcolm’s List that will likely have viewers overlooking certain things. What’s more, the film has a lot of comedic moments thanks, in most part, to Julia and the Thistlewaite’s house staff. The footman and maid have personalities and opinions about what goes on around them. This is a notable deviation from Austen-esque Regency films where the staff members are usually milling about in the background and don’t have much to say about the events of the story as they unfold. Rather, the house staff in Mr. Malcolm’s List is comparable to Mia Thermopolis' lady’s maids in The Princess Diaries and the palace employees in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, all of whom have memorable traits and are a lot more visible and fun when they appear in scenes.
Despite these differences, Mr. Malcolm’s List holds up well in regards to Regency-era tropes and overall storytelling. It shares several similarities with Austen’s work and it’s clear the film draws many of its influences from such films as Pride and Prejudice. Plus, having it be somewhat disparate from its contemporaries isn’t a bad thing, especially considering the number of Regency period dramas there are. There has been a resurgence of Regency romances of late, with Bridgerton, 2020’s positively received Emma, and Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Austen’s Persuasion, and Mr. Malcolm’s List is yet another one fans of the subgenre can enjoy.