Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane (Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, James Cromwell, Julie Walters, Maggie Smith) – Jane Austen wrote some of the greatest novels in history, including Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and Sense and Sensibilities (all of which have been transformed into fine movies).  Her life is less well-known and this movie is mostly a fictionalized version of it. The story tells us that this daughter of a preacher was a beautiful young woman with an independent streak who practiced convention but refused conformity.  She falls in love with a young, free-spirited lawyer who’s totally dependent on his uncle — a conservative, humorless judge.  She is attracted by his joy of life; he is attracted to her by her beauty.  Her passion is writing, which she constantly does despite the expectations of a young woman of her time as compliant, husband-seeking, and subservient.  When she realizes the love should not and cannot be consummated, she resigns herself to a life as a spinster albeit the most successful female author of her time.  This is a beautifully photographed, well-written film with strong, if not exceptional, performances.  In the Shakespeare in Love tradition, it provides a (most likely) fictional context for her writings about Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.  If you go along with the love story and breathe in the scenery of the period, you will enjoy this flick.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *