I love Jane Austen. A lot. I think this is the third Jane Austen movie I’ve reviewed in the last year, so you probably already know that. (The others were Bride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones’s Diary, in case you were wondering.) So this week’s movie review should come as no surprise, especially given that it was just added to Netflix. This week, I get to write about Jane Austen herself, not just the wonders that came out of her imagination. Get ready for Becoming Jane.
Becoming Jane tells the story of budding novelist Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway). When a rambunctious young lawyer, Tom LeFroy (James McAvoy) enters the picture, hearts are a aflutter, and not just in her writing. Austen must come to terms with her place in the world, as a writer and a woman, and she must figure out how love and romance fits in with all that.
Becoming Jane cleverly parallels many of Jane Austen novels, and watching it became a fun little scavenger hunt, looking for dropped tidbits and scattered phrases that also pop up in Austen’s novels. I mostly noticed the references to Pride and Prejudice, which may just be because I love, love, love Pride and Prejudice. I’ve read most of Austen’s other works, but don’t have nearly the same level of intense familiarity.
Like so many of Austen’s works, this film about her life delicately balances romance with politics, the longings of the heart with the practicalities of the head. Where is the line between what you want to do and what you should do? This is a question asked by Austen through practically every character she creates, as well as one pertinent to her own life as an unmarried career woman in Regency, England. Independence, family, money, love, gender roles — all are vital factors Austen and her heroines must grapple with.
I think that might be what speaks to me, and millions of other readers, in Jane Austen’s works. They’re love stories, first and foremost, but they aren’t idyllic. They don’t forget about the often painful realities that surround these characters. Yes, they have happy endings, but those wedding bells are not easily earned. The tension and drama along the way is in no way lessened by knowing it all works out in the end. For me at least, that’s why Austen’s work has stood the test of time — they don’t rely on mystery or shock value, but simply on portraying love in all its complexities.
If you ask me, period dramas are about the prettiest movies out there. I don’t know what it is about them, whether it’s the elegant costuming, the elaborate manor houses, or the tendency for sweeping landscapes, but I just think they’re gorgeous. A movie can’t stand or fall just on the basis of how pretty they are, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Also, there’s just something about corsets and cravats that tell me I’m going to like a movie. Becoming Jane is no exception.
Image credits: comingsoon.net; mademoisellelapiquante.tumblr.com; most4dently.tumblr.com; janeaustentime.tumblr.com; afaerytalelife.tumblr.com