Becoming Jane is a biopic of the life of much-loved English author Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park. Despite only writing 6 novels in her career before her death at the age of 41, she is one of the most easily recognised figures in English literature and one of the most ardently admired. Coming fairly close on the heels of Miss Potter (at least in the UK), the time seemed right for a biopic.

I actually saw this movie back in March (it's release date in the US is, I believe, mid-August. It was a special preview but, due to the later US release date and the bug with the Movies "In Theaters" category Suggest A Product facility, it's only just been added to the database. (Thanks Sue (Millinocket) for adding it to the database for me when it was finally possible!!) So after much annoying delay, here is my review.

Anne Hathaway plays the role of Jane Austen, and while it probably helps that she is an actress I like, she does a good job on the acting front and even a passable English accent. Much like Miss Potter there are overtures of her being an early feminist reformer here; whether this was the case or not, it doesn't particularly detract from the film. For a woman to earn her own living at that time though, and from writing at that, was certainly an unusual and very difficult thing to accomplish. Particularly, it seems, when you have a mother fussing around you all the time and complaining about her own lot in life (much to the despair of long-suffering but poor father)., while Jane's sister Cassandra (Anna Maxwell Martin) tries to stop Jane and her mother from going insane… Mr and Mrs Austen are played by James Cromwell and Julie Walters, both of whom are marvellous in their roles. Here mother's attitude is: "Affection is desirable. Money is absolutely indispensable!"

Money, however, is something that the object of Jane's affections doesn't have. His name is Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), and he has money problems - not of his own making, but he's very tied to his uncle's support for money. Trouble is, the uncle, Judge Langlios (Ian Richardson) doesn't approve of our Jane much, especially her choice of occupation. This is also very unpopular with Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith), the local Aristocrat: "What is she doing?" - "Writing." - "Can anything be done about it?". The match she and Mrs Austen have in mind for Jane is Mr Wisley, a very quiet and shy individual who seems to be at the beck and call of Lady Gresham. (He is played by Laurence Fox, who does a tremendous job in a very difficult role to make an impression in.)

The story follows a pretty predictable path for anyone who has ever read one of Austen's books or seen an adaptation of them. Particularly there are many similarities to Pride and Prejudice, with several characters seeming directly comparable to those in that book - Jane herself being like Elizabeth Bennett with Cassandra like Jane Bennett, Tom Lefroy similar to Mr Darcy in a way, Mrs Gresham definitely a version of Lady Catherine De Burgh, Mr and Mrs Austen seeming very much like Mr and Mrs Bennett… It has often been thought that Jane Austen's own experiences were reflected in her books, in particular in Pride and Prejudice, so it was inevitable that this would happen in a film about her life I suppose. Sometimes though it does seem a little too conveniently paralleled though.

There are many things to like about Becoming Jane, even if you have no interest whatsoever in Jane Austen, but for some reason it never quite picked up to the level where I thought of it as an excellent film - just a very good film. There is quite a lot of humour and some scenes you definitely wouldn't expect in a period piece of this nature, but it works quite well. The storyline is quite compelling despite being a little predictable, and some great performances from many of the cast members. The music and period details are pretty much spot on as far as I can tell and the ending wasn't what I was expecting (but will be to anyone even remotely familiar with Jane Austen's life, I would imagine!). Much like "Miss Potter", it was a nice movie without somehow ever moving up from a comfortable fourth gear into the fifth gear of the most enjoyable movies. Still, it's well worth seeing.

For more information on the author see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen

Other Information

Director: Julian Jarrold
Runtime: 120 minutes
Rating: PG for brief nudity and mild language



Related Links


Anne Hathaway also starred in The Devil Wears Prada


Films based on Jane Austen novels:


Pride and Prejudice (with Keirra Knightly)
Emma



Oops, nearly forgot... you can't get much more British than Jane Austen, so I'm entering this review into Barbara (ifif1938)'s Write Off of all things British and French, commemorating her 500th review.

Recommended: Yes