Movie: Becoming Jane

I cannot gush enough about this movie. I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I rented on a whim last night because I had a freebie code from RedBox. And I’m so glad I did – I was enraptured from the beginning and became entranced at the end. The cast was excellent, the direction was lovely, and the scenery was gorgeous. Add in a stellar cast and you have a fantastic movie.

From Amazon.com:

In 1795, 20-year-old Jane (Anne Hathaway) is an aspiring author. Her parents (Julie Walters and James Cromwell) hope to see their youngest daughter make a lucrative match. Unfortunately, Jane isn’t interested. She meets brash law student Tom (James McAvoy) while he’s staying with relatives. It isn’t love at first sight–but rather irritation. Just as affection begins to bloom, Tom has to return to London, and Jane’s suitor Wisley, whose financial prospects are superior, proposes. To complicate matters, Tom’s uncle (Ian Richardson) disapproves of the outspoken young lady just as much as Wisley’s aunt (Maggie Smith).

Obviously we can’t know the vivid details of Jane Austen’s life since many of her papers were burned after her death to maintain her privacy. However, there are enough facts known that the writer of “Becoming Jane” was able to flesh out what MIGHT have happened to inspire the witty wonderful writing of Jane Austen. Anne Hathaway is superb and my oh my is James McAvoy an actor we all need to keep an eye on. I actually noticed him first in “The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe” (he played Mr. Tumnus, the faun). Underneath that makeup I could see a future Fake Boyfriend. So I was thrilled when his name started popping up more often after that movie.

Sorry. Back to the movie. The movie is definitely an homage to all things Austen – you see little winks for the fans in many scenes. And that makes it delightful in every way. I’ll definitely be buying this one at some point.

4 1/2 fountain pens out of five.

07 comments on “Movie: Becoming Jane”

Ace , March 18, 2008 at 9:49 am Direct link to comment

WOW… I really thought that was Julia Roberts on the cover.. and did I double take when it read Anne Hathaway.
Jean , March 18, 2008 at 10:20 am Direct link to comment

Oooh, I need to bump this movie up in my Netflix queue!
PrincessJami , March 18, 2008 at 10:36 am Direct link to comment

I thought the same thing as Ace. “Anne Hathaway? Oh! That’s NOT Julia Roberts on the cover?!”
Denis , March 18, 2008 at 10:49 am Direct link to comment

FYI

The crictics’ average rating for this was a B- and the EW readers average was a B+. Yahoo users gave it an average of a B. I knew I was right thinking this movie wasn’t well liked when it came out.
Jaynee , March 18, 2008 at 11:04 am Direct link to comment

B- means a movie isn’t well liked? Really? Because I think that’s still a pretty good rating.
Amy@P2P , March 18, 2008 at 11:29 am Direct link to comment

I LOVED this movie. Just watched it a few weeks ago actually.

Amy@P2P’s last blog post..The interview
Denis , March 18, 2008 at 1:31 pm Direct link to comment

There were several C reviews and one A that threw off the whole average. Overall, the movie was given a passing rating. More people panned it than raved about it.

Either way, glad you enjoyed it.

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