Becoming Jane is a beautiful and ironic movie that speculates on Jane Austen's short life. Anne Hathaway plays an amazing role as Jane. Her fellow actors include James McAvoy (Tom Lefroy), James Cromwell (Reverend Austen), and Julie Walters (Mrs. Austen). The acting was just amazing on all accounts. The actors all played such engrossing parts, that I never saw them as anything other than the characters they portrayed.
Becoming Jane is much like the movie Pride and Prejudice, and written how I consider Jane would have written it. The dialogue is witty, riddled with irony (just as she would have it), and full of misunderstandings, and pleasant endings. I found myself laughing out loud at random intervals and causing my sister to peek her head in the room to see what I was laughing at.
Becoming Jane starts out with Jane scribbling furiously -- seemingly unhappy with her thoughts -- and then deciding on a better wording. She then decides to wake her entire household by pounding away at the pianoforte (on which Austen was, apparently, quite accomplished). Jane's sister is to be engaged, and the family is holding together for an evening to listen to Jane read her congratulations. Only, the puffed up Tom Lefroy is joining them on this evening... much to Jane's chagrin. Tom is being punished by his uncle and sent to the small, country town in order to learn some prudence.
Tom Lefroy is an amazing character, and anyone who has read (or watched) Pride and Prejudice will immediately recognize much of Mr. Darcy in him. He is arrogant, boarish, and thinks himself many times better than the country folk that surround him. During Jane's reading, he even has the audacity to nod off in the window sill. Still, I could not help but gravitate toward Lefroy... and apparently, neither could Jane.
Jane and Tom banter back and forth for much of the first half of the movie (much like Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy), but soon realize they care a great deal for one another. Tom Lefroy is dependent on his uncle's wealth, however, and cannot marry the poor Miss Austen. The neighboring Mr. Wisley has seen fit, however, to fall for Jane, and can afford the marriage because of his personal wealth. Again, this seems just as if Jane had written it herself!
Jane is torn between her true feelings, and the harsh truth of real life. If she marries Tom Lefroy, they will live as paupers; but a marriage to Mr. Wisley, while prudent, would go against her very beliefs. During this struggle, her soon-to-be brother-in-law is killed while away serving against the French, and Jane's sister is left without anyone to take care of her once their parents are gone. The twists and turns in the movie are so like Jane's novels, that it was almost like watching her mind come to life all over again.
Any fan of Austen's works would be completely enamored of this wonderful movie. Although conjecture, I think it does a great deal to add to her works. Becoming Jane shows the harsh realities for women of the time, and their how their place in life was subject to a man. Austen's books all have "neat" bundled endings that have been attacked by every generation, but this movie might show a glimpse into why. I think Jane sums it up best by saying, "My characters shall have, after a little trouble, all that they desire."
Definitely a movie to buy, and to watch over and over again. Granted, you might want to ditch the boys for this movie... it is definitely a chick flick. You might even want to watch it alone if you tend to tear up easily. The ending is a serious kick to the gut, but it really is a perfect little movie. Run out and buy immediately!
