Hi, I am newish here and am enjoying it so far, have read some great reviews. I am having trouble fi...
Hi, I am newish here and am enjoying it so far, have read some great reviews. I am having trouble finding who has rated my reviews at the moment so apologies for anyone I haven't rated back.
Member since:19.02.2006
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I recently signed up to one of these sites where you can get DVD's sent to you in the post. Perfect as now I don't even need to leave the home to get new DVD's to watch! This time I got send Miss Potter. I had put this on my list as I was a fan of her books as a child. My sister had the whole little box set and I loved the stories. She also lived in later life in Windermere in the Lake District, which I have spent some time at as a child as my family lives very near the Lake District. This provided some more interest for me. The film was released in 2006 and has been available on DVD for a while now.
The story of Miss Potter is based around Beatrix Potter herself who is played by Renee Zellweger. It is based in the 1900's when Beatrix was in her 30's. It shows her in her quest to try and get her first story published about Peter Rabbit. She has always grown up painting these characters and sees them as her friends.
Her mother (Barbara Flynn) has never been very impressed by Beatrix's drawings and thinks that she is wasting her time. Her father (Bill Paterson) on the other hand had always supported her but wasn't really convinced it would go anywhere. The family had often visited the Lake District when Beatrix was a child and so she had a great love for the place and found it great for ideas for her stories.
The family were from a wealthy background and Beatrix's mother was constantly trying to find Beatrix a suitable man. So we find Beatrix in her 30's with no man, which was always frowned upon in those days. She eventually manages to find a book publisher that will publish her first book. Harold Warne (Anton Lesser) and Fruing Warne (David Bamber) decide to choose it as a project for their brother Norman (Ewan McGregor) as he wants to join in the family business. They have no idea of how popular the books will become. Beatrix gets very close to Norman and his mother and sister Millie (Emily Watson), who is a fellow single lady. We follow Beatrix as her books become popular and see where life takes her.
I think the story was a really lovely one. It was not exceptionally exciting but certainly interesting. I think the fact that it was based on the life story of someone we have all heard about makes it so fascinating. Even though I have loved reading Beatrix Potter's book as a child I never knew any details of her life before. There were some parts that I didn't really expect.
I think that Renee plays Beatrix very well. She did remind me a lot of Bridget though, probably as it is one of my favourite films. She does do an English accent in a certain way but she is pretty good at is as an American. The character Beatrix is quite odd, as I said earlier her friends were her drawings which seems a bit odd, especially when they seemed to come to life and move around. I think this wasn't really needed as the story wasn't one of animation but one of a real story. Perhaps Beatrix really did think they can move? She was quite a likeable character all the same and you did will her to have good things happen to her. You can't help but feel a bit sorry for her with her Mother!
The other characters in the film all added a lot to the story as well. I particularly liked the character of Millie as she was very outgoing like Beatrix and not like the typical woman in those days. I didn't realise that Norman was played by Ewan McGregor until when I started writing this review. I think he did play the quiet and happy character well though. The parents of Beatrix showed where she probably got her ways from. They had very different ways of trying to bring her up, with one encouraging and the other not so. Her Father seems like a really nice man who was very proud of his daughter. He still thought class was very important though and wouldn't let Beatrix lower herself.
The locations of the film were good as you could see the real contrast between London and the Lake District and see why Beatrix would want to move there.
Overall I think it was a really nice film and worth watching if you are interested in Beatrix Potter. You can buy this DVD for around £5 now from Amazon.
Also posted on Dooyoo.
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Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
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
Miss Potterwalks that fine line between charming and cloying with pleasing ... more
sure-footedness. Apple-cheeked Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones' Diary) once again slips into a British accent to play writer/illustrator Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabb...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 10 to 13 days...
This biopic follows Beatrix Potter's rise to being the most successful children's author ... more
of all time. Despite delighting generations of children with her books she kept her own story locked carefully away. The film reveals how she developed her artist...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Miss Potterwalks that fine line between charming and cloying with pleasing ... more
sure-footedness. Apple-cheeked Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones' Diary) once again slips into a British accent to play writer/illustrator Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabb...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Whilst delighting generations of children with her books, Beatrix Potter kept her own ... more
story locked carefully away.Miss Potter is the enchanting love story inspired by Beatrix Potter's life and love affair with her publisher Norman Warne.
![Miss Potter [DVD] [2006]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/77958637.jpg "Miss Potter [DVD] [2006]")
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