Monday, August 06, 2007

Helen's take on Becoming Jane

Chick flick. Duh.

BECOMING JANE is a fictional account of Jane Austen's romantic life. It's a guess as to what real life events may have affected her fiction writing.

Over all, I thought the movie was interesting and I loved the costumes. Anne Hathaway was wonderful as Jane. I could watch that actress all day long. Those gorgeous big brown eyes, those curvy lips. That flawless skin.

Yes, I'm a wee bit envious. She got to kiss James McAvoy. He's a doll. I thought he was one of the best parts of THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE as Mr. Tumnus. Cute, cute, cute. They were perfect together.

Honestly, though, I couldn't help but be disappointed. I guess I expected a movie about Jane Austen would be at least as good as those movies based on her books. The most recent PRIDE AND PREJUDICE remake is one of my all time favorite movies. Loved EMMA too.

Also, the idea that a writer must experience what she's writing about is plain silly.

Anyone else see this movie? What did you think?

6 comments:

Debra Dixon said...

ARRGH! I haven't seen it and I soo want to like it. I thought the casting was great and the trailer makes me look forward to it. Or it did. What put you off? Was the movie too slow?

Unknown said...

Shucks, Helen. I want to see it and really wanted to like it, too. Like you, I could just stare at that pretty pair all day.

But if any of us had a movie made about our lives, a couple of hundred years after we died, could they ever capture the angst and throb of our true brilliance or the high drama of our lives?

Nah.

Hey, great idea for another blog. . .

Helen Brenna said...

I'm sorry!

Go into it without too high of expectations and I'm sure you'll like it, Betina and Deb. Isn't that the case with a lot of movies? Your expectations can often drive your opinion.

The casting was impeccable, right? And I'm thinking it's Jane Austen. Should be nothing short of perfection.

It was a nice story. And I'm going to ruin it here, if you know Jame Austen's life at all, you know a little about how the romance might end. Me likes me happily ever afters.

Anonymous said...

I too loved the costumes and the whole period look of the movei (I'll probably buy the dvd just for research). And I thought the acting was very good. But somehow Jane as written in the movie came across to me as too self-absorbed to be the keen observer or her fellow humans who wrote the novels. I found myself feeling most sympathetic to her rejected suitor, Mr Wisley.

Helen Brenna said...

YES, Tracy! I kept expecting something to develop between Jane and Wisley. He's kind of the Darcy of the story.

Anonymous said...

Exactly! He was so supportive of her writer (and any guy who appreciates a girl's writing totally wins me over :-) and seemed to quietly, intensely devoted to her.