Jane, We Hardly Knew You (Becoming Jane (DVD))

Member Name: venice105

Product:	Becoming Jane (DVD)
Date:	21/02/08 (210 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: McAvoy a dish

Disadvantages: Jane didn't get to write her own ending, Hathaway a bit dull

I recently watched Becoming Jane, starring Anne Hathaway as the popular author Jane Austen, and James McAvoy as her love interest Tom Lefroy. Many people are familiar with Jane Austen through her novels, or filmed versions of them. On a superficial level it would be easy to think of her as another frilly authoress, whose happy endings are inevitable. What they usually also contain, however, are some measure of sadness, frustration, failed promises and abandonment - issues which the author, a "spinster", it would seem, had firsthand experience with in her own life if going by this film's interpretation.

Becoming Jane is based on the early part of Jane Austen's life, when she was of a marriageable age and supposedly by some accounts courted by various suitors. I have read her biography and must admit the possibilities for a thrilling romantic film did not exactly leap out at me. That said, there are enough letters which refer to the people in this film to support its basic premise. Supposedly many Austen purists balked at the liberties this film took with interpreting her life, but to be honest I think they need to get a life. It is innately true to the spirit of her novels, while also making room for the reality of what we do know about her.

The film is presented very much in familiar Austen territory. Jane is the somewhat cheeky, intelligent one (much like her heroines), while her elder sister is nice and sweet and engaged to be married. Her parents are portrayed as not far off from Mr. And Mrs. Bennett from Pride & Prejudice, with Julie Walters playing her overbearing mother with aplomb. Like the Bennetts, they are not wealthy but are happy. Mr. Bennett is a reverend and they do have some social connections, resulting in Jane being put forth as a possible wife in waiting to the local rich heir, played by Lawrence Fox. He is a shyly awkward character who actually elicits sympathy throughout the film for his unreturned affection for Jane. Jane takes out her frustrations with her lot in life on the piano and in her writing. Already the seeds of desire to be a writer are there, although pretty universally frowned upon by her society.

Her world is turned upside down by the arrival in town of a neighbour's cousin, Tom Lefroy. He has been sent from the city by his uncle and benefactor to try and iron out some of his wild ways. A law student, he is also prone to boxing and enjoying the unseemly sides of London life. James McAvoy as Tom takes the character and runs with it. McAvoy is an undeniably charismatic screen presence, I have enjoyed his performances in everything from Shameless to recent film work like The Last King of Scotland and Atonement. In Tom Lefroy he creates a character who is at times caddish, arrogant and un-heroic. That said, he does have many redeeming qualities, like looking dreamy in breeches! He is a composite mixture of several of Austen's male characters - he has the charm of Wickham (P&P), the intuition of Mr.Knightley(Emma), the worldliness of Henry (N.Abbey), and lastly, the surprise decency of Darcy. Like Darcy, he is initially rude to Anne upon their first meeting, where she is giving a rather meandering reading to an engagement party for her sister. He nods off during the reading, and she later overhears him dismissing her as girlish and self indulgent. Not used to criticism, Anne has a bit of a strop. Well, as much of a strop as Anne Hathaway deigns to.

Hathaway's performance as Jane was, to me, the main problem in this film. While perfectly passable, something about her I just found dull. It was hard to believe some of the witticisms she spoke, much less that she would become a woman capable of writing some of the most timelessly revered novels of all time. She just lacked the sparkle and archness of an Austen heroine. While perhaps this was a character choice as Austen was very possibly not as vibrant as Lizzie or Emma, the dialogue and setting of the film are so reminiscent of Austen's work it is hard not to expect a bit more fizz from the character. I caught a snippet of the BBC's Pride & Prejudice the other night on t.v. and was struck by the immense feistiness of Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennett, who expressed more with an arched eyebrow or wry grin than Hathaway managed for the duration of this film. This is not to say I didn't empathise with her, the film is strong enough on its own that I was moved by it, I just felt she lacked the light touch for comedy that actors like McAvoy and Walters make look easy.

That said, her scenes with McAvoy are particularly watchable, it is just that he steals every one of them. Their exchanges in the library scene possess a cheekiness that is hard to believe would have occurred at the time. When McAvoy cannot conceal his mirth as he reads a graphic passage to Jane about some birds getting amorous, and then tells her she needs her "horizons WIDENED"(McAvoy here virtually winking at the camera), it did break suspension of disbelief for me. Jane is flustered by this but not nearly so much as one might expect for a girl who has never read Tom Jones (which Tom gives to her to read). She is understandably intrigued by her bold new acquaintance, and the dullness of her other prospective suitor becomes even more evident. Jane is a romantic soul who believes a marriage without love is pointless, which in this day and age we take for granted but in her time was fairly radical. Her own parents are in love, but poor, and her mother is vehemently opposed to Anne ending up like she has, picking her own potatoes(the horror!).

I was curious what others thought of this film as I know it received mixed reviews, and I actually quite liked it despite a few reservations so thought I should look into the main objections. The basic consensus for those who didn't like it seem to be a. The miscasting of Hathaway, which I agree with, b. The inaccuracies/liberties the film takes in distilling elements of Austen's fiction into this portrait of her life. c. Filmed in Irelend which apparently is noticeably different from Austen's home Hampshire.

I really don't get what all the fuss is about with regards to this style of filming a biopic (Like Miss Potter, most of it is made up). They are not claiming this is an accurate history, to be honest a true depiction of Austen's life would be a bit boring, at least from the available history. There seems to be a feeling that it is somehow disrespectful of a great artist to give their life this treatment, but I felt this film had a real affection for Austen and in a sense was giving her the true romance she deserved but (possibly) never experienced. I thought it was neatly done that Lefroy's character contained elements of many of her romantic heroes. Also obvious nods to her work were Dame Maggie Smith as the cantankerous yet pragmatic rich dowager, Jane's parents being basic doppelgangers for the Bennetts, Mr.Wisely reminiscent of Edward Ferrars of Sense&Sensibility in his quiet, awkward feeling for Jane, and of course the requisite toady cousin. I don't think it's that much of an ask to imagine the characters in her books had some basis in real life, a point the film does make in several instances. Jane declares she wants her characters to be real and true to life more than anything at one point, although she does promise to give them all happy endings when life has failed to come up with one for her.

Sadly, Jane's growing affection for Tom does seem to be doomed. She is warned that neither one of them is well off enough to maintain a decent living (especially not with her popping out a child a year as her sister projects), and so their prospects for a life together do not seem great. Of course, this does not stop them falling for one another. Tom eventually steps up after Anne has placed her future in jeopardy by turning down a proposal from Mr.Wisely. They decide to ask his uncle for permission to marry, with the hope he will overlook the unimpressive financial aspect of Jane's situation. Inevitably it would seem with Jane being a feisty writer type, she cannot keep her opinions to herself as a good girl of the times would and comes off as a cheeky mare. Thich infuriates the old judge enough to deny Tom his approval, and therefore any future financial support.

The way the film unfolds from here I will leave to the imagination. Elements of it were a bit drawn out and contrived, but at the same time I did feel sympathy for the characters. I enjoyed it despite a slightly thin plot (it hardly has the masterful layering of subplots always present in Austen's own work), mainly due to the performances. McAvoy's character has the most room for growth, and while Hathaway wasn't an ideal Austen (perhaps a British actress could've put some more zing into the part), she is good enough to feel great sorrow indeed for Austen's missed opportunities. Lawrence Fox is worth mentioning for taking a small role and injecting it with much presence. The film is most effective when portraying the limitations of the day, whether it be the women not being able to play cricket or swim, never mind to marry for love; as well as the limitations not having control of your own finances had on both sexes. The costumes and set design are immaculate yet not too glossy, it feels like a real portrait of the time, similar to the recent Pride &Prejudice adaptation. It is nice to see a vision, whether it be perfectly factual or not, of what may have inspired Austen to give her characters the full and varied lives that she herself was denied. Is this an epic drama that will stand the test of time? Possibly not, but I enjoyed it, had a wee sniffle and would happily watch it again. If I could I would rate this three and a half stars, but due to it being so detailed and affectionate towards its heroine's life will bump it to four.

Summary: Enjoyable, imagined biopic