Becoming Jane (2007)

Delightful.

A delightful journey into the life of writer Jane Austen, whose character's lives in her books have happier endings than her own. Torn between giving up the man she loves so he may help his impoverished family and please his rich uncle, Jane clings to her passion for the written word to help heal her wounds in the real world. Choosing not to marry another rich suitor because she does not love him, Jane hopes to 'live by her pen'.

Chrissy K. McVay - Author November 16, 2008

Nice picture of Jane Austen's early years

I love romance, so I enjoyed this movie very much. It was nice to discovered the kind of life that Jane Austen could had had and related with his books, it can explain a lot about her personality. And the performances of Anne Hathaway and James Mcavoy were great, they made a nice couple on the screen, they transmit the idea of real love through their rolls. Perfect for my teast. October 24, 2008

Physocologically Fascinating!

Anything written by Jane Austin is a classic to me starting with my all time favorite, Pride & Prejudice, the English version, which I own is outstanding with excellent acting by all in the cast. When I saw the new version with Keira Knightly, I was greatly disappointed, it was but a shell of the original showing only bits & Pieces, now, with Becoming Jane, I was able to see all of her life, and what she was about personally and how she was able to write such wonderful and caring novels, revealing, I think her own personal feelings about love, which I feel was the center of her being. October 18, 2008

Ugh... why did I watch this??

When I first heard about Becoming Jane, I was so excited to see it because I have always loved Jane Austen's stories. Well, I watched it on DVD with a friend, and was thoroughly disappointed!
The music is fine, the costumes are fine, the scenery is fine... but the acting! the dialogue was so boring, or too risque'. I didn't see how Jane would even have fallen for Tom Lefroy in the first place. He seemed a complete jerk. I could go on and on, but I won't bore you.

I want those 120 minutes of my life back!

If you want to see a good film based on Austen's life, watch Miss Austen Regrets (included in the new 2008 "Sense and Sensibility" by the BBC.)
"Regrets" has great acting, humor, sexual tension, beautiful music and scenery.
Watch it!! October 18, 2008

Bottom line.....it's not a good film.

I adore Jane Austen and although her own personal story isn't as interesting as her books it still could have been enjoyable to watch and told better and then in this film.
The first half of the movie is "barely tolerable". It makes you either want to turn off the TV or fall asleep. The second half picks up enough to at least be able to finish the movie, and the end is somewhat tear jerking. James McAvoy was the only thing I liked about it. He is definitely shines here.

The reason I give it a one star:
1. The director did a horrible job. It didn't feel professionally done, but more like a collage students first try in directing.
2. The acting. Ann Hathaway is beautiful but not a great actress. I was really disappointed by her performance and everyone else's except for McAvoy.
3. The music. It was uninspiring and barely noticeable.
4. The costumes. They seemed to be made out of polyester and didn't always fit the period. They looked like they were from a costume shop.
5. The dialog sucked. It was uninteresting and didn't seem to be from the period. Nothing like the dialog used by Austen in her books.
6. The cinematography. They had the beautiful English countryside to work with and it looks like it was filmed in the back yard of a retirement home.

The move wasn't at all charming like Austin's novels although that may not have been what they were going for. It didn't capture any cretin style. Not really a romance or a drama film. It was at times crude and vulgar which didn't seem to fit either. Like her parents "getting it on", I didn't need to see that! I would have rather seen a well done documentary of her life. Maybe they will remake it some day and hopefully next time due the story justice.
October 9, 2008

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