Becoming Jane

Ah... I really missed continuing to write about the Jane Austen adaptations (I ended up not watching the last two because of the dissertation), but I guess now it's time to come back to that lovely conversation.

I cannot believe it took me so long to finally watch Becoming Jane! And, thanks to a defective DVD from Netflix, I had to watch the last two thirds of the film on YouTube...

What a lovely film! Which now makes me very curious both to investigate this very intriguing hypothesis about Jane Austen's early life as well as eager to see the recent TV film Jane Austen Regrets (which I old-fashionably taped, but will probably get on DVD). Of course Becoming Jane does have the requisite biopic touches of giving several "previews" into the author's works based on her life, several of which may feel a bit forced for a true Austen connoisseurs like me ;-), but it is certainly very enchanting being able to take a peek at Jane's family life and imagine how hard it must have been to be a poor gentlewoman at that time.

I liked Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy (I guess it's the first time I've seen him -- similar thing with the new Pride and Prejudice actor) and the actress who played Cassandra was particularly nice. Jane's mother reminded me a tiny bit of Mrs. Bennett, but she seems much more sensible and loving, of course. I wonder if anything like that really happened to Jane -- what a heartbreaking experience to go through, but definitely something that would make a person grow and mature immensely. I find the parts of the film in which Tom encourages her to learn more about the world (particularly about sex) quite intriguing. Meeting Mrs. Radcliffe was another fascinating event -- did Jane ever meet her? Perhaps. Now I have to go and find out the answer to some of these questions.

Well, I'd really love to hear your thoughts about this movie if you've seen it and you're a "Janeite" like me! ;-)