It's safe to say that I'm far more interested in Jane Austens life than her written works which is possibly why I've become quite attatched to this film. It was shown on the telly the other day and despite the fact that I do have the DVD I had already circled it in the Evening Post TV listings. Just in case anybody in our house had any queries as to what we would be watching that night.
The film is about a young Jane Austen, the youngest daughter of her family she is expected to marry a wealthy gentleman who has offered his hand. The money she'd inherit could easily sweep away the chance of looming poverty which is hanging around like a bad smell. The problem as always is the obvious thing. She doesn't love him and what makes things more complicated is when a headstrong lawyer turns up.
Sent deep into the countryside by his uncle, Thomas LeFroy isn't short of receiving attention from other ladies yet it is Jane who draws his attentions. With three marriage proposals, the possibility of poverty and upsetting her family
members there is a lot riding on the young Austens actions.
A lot has been said about the possible romance between Jane Austen and Thomas LeFroy. As to if it was anyway linked to her well known novel Pride & Prejudice. But the way in which the film is made shows a great deal of likeness between LeFroy and Darcy. For starters it is his rude manner at the start where he sleeps through a book reading that shows an I don't care attitude. Then his somewhat overall blazing arrogance, although dashed with a large amount of charm that lets him get away with it.
Although I do love my period dramas I do find that in a lot of cases the female characters come across as quite whiney creatures however I find that all the ladies in Becoming Jane are likeable without being too uninteresting. Jane Austen has clearly been portrayed as a woman in her 20s, more or less unaware of life itself. Then there's Mrs Austen, a firm but caring woman and Eliza de Feuillide, a sightly flirty french woman with her eyes set on Janes brother.
There is bound to be a few people you are going to recognise in this film. Anne Hathaway plays the lead as Jane Austen and despite the few critisms she has recevied I felt that she did not give a wooden performance and was completely beliveable in her role. The ever lovely James McAvoy as Thomas LeFroy managed to pull off the key arrogance, charm and sensitivities needed to make his character be liked but not liked at the same time. Then you have James Cromwell (Farmer Hoggett from Babe) as Mr Austen. The voice of reason. Julie Walters, who seems to excel in being cast as the mother figure, as Mrs Austen. Maggie Smith also stars along with Anna Maxwell Martin (Bleak House) as Cassandra.
This film was set in Ireland and you're never short of countryside shots or grand houses to marvel at. The reasoning behind filming there instead of Hampshire where Austen lived was that her true home had become, like a lot of places now, too manicured and Ireland still had an unchanged feel to it. Either way it did have a nice look about it.
This was first released in 2006 so it hasn't taken all that long for it to be shown on the television. That said it doesn't mean it isn't an enjoyable think to watch. It has reached great success worldwide and has won a Peoples Choice Award and an Ivor Novello Award. So it can't be that bad.
The special features include backstage footage including the filming of the boxing and cricket playing scenes. Along with commentary and a photo gallery. It's nice to see the actors and actresses before they get into role playing mode but the extras aren't exactly all that interesting really.
If you want to watch a gentle period drama based on facts then this could be something you'd enjoy. Whilst it isn't really action packed that doesn't make it stilted. It is in the romance genre but it isn't over the top with emotions. The ending isn't exactly to my liking but unfortunately you can't always go back and change history to suit your tastes.
You can get this for £4.98 from Amazon. A very worthwhile buy, even if it's just to watch James McAvoy in breeches!
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Jane Austen lit up the world with her words wit and wisdom. But her life too was stoked ... more
by passion and romance. In Becoming Jane Anne Hathaway is Jane Austen a woman who believes in Love but is destined via her parents wishes to marry for money...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Sep 3rd, 2009
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