In 2016, aspiring filmmaker Emma Holly Jones came across the period romantic comedy script for Mr. Malcolm’s List being performed by a diverse cast on The Black List Table Reads podcast. The episode was flagged by Black List founder Franklin Leonard, who knew Jones’s love of romcoms and period pieces (Jones and Leonard got married in June this year), and she was instantly hooked. Having recently seen Hamilton on Broadway, described by its writer Lin-Manuel Miranda as ‘the story of America then, told by America now’, Jones said she began to realise just how white-centric the British period genre was.

If you’re watching Mr. Malcolm’s List for the first time, you might assume the film drew inspiration from other Regency-era projects, notably the Netflix series Bridgerton. On the contrary, director Emma Holly Jones’ influences come from some unexpected places, as she explained in an exclusive interview with Geek Vibes Nation.

Plans go awry in this Regency rom-com...as they would!

But Director Emma Holly Jones talks about the many things that went right, especially the fabulous sets! She shares the story of her vision for this Regency Rom-Com being brought to life by the sets and locations, particularly the details that spoke beyond the basic story, and the great team who brought those details to fore: Set Decorators Jenny Oman SDSA & Emma Lowney, Production Designer Ray Ball, Cinematographer Tony Miller and their resourceful and creative crews. Shot in Ireland in the Spring of 2021.

From director Emma Holly Jones and writer Suzanne Allain (based on her book of the same name), Mr. Malcolm's List is a rom-com with a mountain of familiar genre trappings — only it happens to be set in 1800s England, where the titular Mr. Jeremiah Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù) is a much sought-after single gentleman who finds himself in want of a wife. The only thorny aspect is that he's made a list of standards that any potential bride is required to meet, and any he finds wanting in some manner is quickly and summarily discarded.

Mr. Malcolm’s List” has a scrumptious light charm. It’s a Regency romance set in London in 1818, where someone in the film is being fooled at every moment. The deceptions and symmetries are standard, but this is the kind of movie that rises or falls on whether the actors can carry the duplicity — and the innocence — aloft. And the actors here are marvelous: tart, stylish, emotionally vibrant, never more knowing than when they’re being duped.

It’s been a winding road for Mr. Malcolm’s List. The Regency rom-com—complete with eligible, brooding heir; poor, plucky heroine; and any number of romantic false starts and misunderstandings—began life as a self-published book by author Suzanne Allain, who later spun a screenplay from her story. In brief, wealthy bachelor (Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù) keeps an impractical “must-have” list for his bridal prospects, one of whom, the spirited Julia (Zawe Ashton), enlists the help of a friend (Freida Pinto) to woo and then reject this stonyhearted man, who definitely won’t (oh, who are we kidding?) discover his romantic side by the time the credits roll.

"Mr. Malcolm's List" has been a longtime coming for Emma Holly Jones. The director is a lifelong fan of period romance — she's named after the "handsome, clever" protagonist of a certain Jane Austen novel — but it took a while to find the perfect project for her feature film debut, something timeless that could still resonate with a modern audience. She first discovered "Mr. Malcolm's List" in 2015, when the screenplay featured on an episode of The Black List Table Reads podcast. From there, Jones worked to score the rights to both the screenplay and the novel the story was based on, both written by Suzanne Allain. It took three years to secure funding for a proof of concept, and though the short film went viral upon release in 2018, another three years would pass before the feature found a home at Bleecker Street.

Emma Holly Jones explains how working outside established conventions — from research, casting and production elements to the film's adaptation process, inspirations and her own education — helped her deliver the groundbreaking period romance.

I could always see myself in the shoes of all those amazing female characters,” muses Freida Pinto, describing her love of Regency-era novels written by authors like Jane Austen. “They were defying odds in their time.” The Slumdog Millionaire star studied English literature in college, poring over classic works and envisioning herself one day portraying such characters in adaptations on the big screen.

Dickinson won’t be alone for long. Its inimitable tone has kick- started a trend seen in everything from The Great to The Personal History Of David Copperfield and the forthcoming Regency romantic comedy Mr Malcolm’s List. The film, directed by Emma Holly Jones, follows two friends seeking revenge on a gentleman who sizes up potential partners against an arbitrary ranking of feminine accomplishments. Like all good rom-coms, period or otherwise, Mr Malcolm’s List is a set of helium-puffed story tropes gleefully strung together, from the fake relationship to the Cinderella makeover to the trusty old masked ball. What sets the film apart is the inclusivity of the cast: Mr Malcolm, a Darcy-esque pin-up if ever we saw one, is played by Gangs Of London’s Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, and he’s joined in the film by Constance Wu and Freida Pinto.

Period dramas have served as the backbone of British cinema and television, ever since the first films began production at the tail end of the 19th Century. But more often than not, these productions have had one major similarity: an all-white cast.

If you ask her, Emma Holly Jones was practically born to make Mr. Malcolm's List. "I grew up in love with Jane Austen," the 30-year-old filmmaker says. "I'm named after Emma, I've always had that book on my bedside table, and I've watched every period drama that's ever been made."