Becoming Jane

I have a love/hate relationship with adaptations of any sort, because while I can detach and ignore inacuracies most of the time, it is difficult to do in most cases, and not something I enjoy. Thankfully for this movie, the story was so far from truth that it was not at all difficult to appreciate it as itself and not a portrayal of Jane Austen's life.

First of all, I was disappointed by the objectionable content of this movie...there were several unnecessary parts, and I was surprised that it only got a PG rating. That being said, however, I did find this an enjoyable and interesting movie.

Unlike many period movies it does not have any overlong dull shots, while also not being too quickly paced or with many quick cuts. The music was good, nice and pretty when it needed to be, and it never was overwhelming. The dancing and other period elements were kept where they belonged, in the background, letting the characters and story take over. I went to see the movie with several friends who had taken English Country Dancing with me, and we recognized two of the dances they performed and had to resist the urge to stand up and dance along. The tone of the movie was well-handled, with neither drama nor humor taking over, and quite a few good scenes and lines. The acting also was good, with the only weak link being (unsurpisingly) Anne Hathaway. An interesting note: she was her best when most Austen-like, and her worst in the scenes that I could not see Austen ending up in. James McAvoy was very good at his role and you could see why Jane liked him, but he and Jane had little chemistry in my opinion...they did not fit as a couple.

Storywise, much of the movie felt like a ripoff of Pride and Prejudice, but there were many unique bits as well. From what I have read, I think they did justice to Tom Lefroy, and I could see Jane liking him even as he is a rake. You can see the bitterness that she feels when she realizes that their relationship cannot succeed, and how she looks to the steady true man in her life with appreciation after her relationship with Tom Lefroy, and so the movie seems to make a case that it was her own unhappy experience with that sort of man that made her write all her heroes the quiet good sort of men, with all the villains the entertaining rakes (except for Henry Tilney, who was written earliest).

Due to content issues, and the liberties taken with Austen's life, I'd not recommend this to be seen in theatres, however, it was not the horrible thing that Austen fans expected either. In the end, though, driving to the theatre with several good friends and lip-syncing and acting ridiculously along to the Phantom of the Opera soundtrack was the best part of the experience.