Saturday night my husband took me to see "Becoming Jane". Having read several reviews of the movie, I wanted to see it for myself. Firstly, let me say that I am always so disappointed when they take "modern sensibilities" and place them in a period movie. This is what I didn't like about the recent "Pride and Prejudice" starring Kiera Knightly, can you imagine Lizzie telling Mr. Darcy that he could call her "goddess divine?" Yikes! But I digress.
I do not like that Tom Lefroy reads to her from a nature book about birds mating. I do not like that the filmaker thought it important to show Mr. and Mrs. Austen in bed, having a moment, if you know what I mean. I do not like that they show Tom and Jane's brother's bare bottoms. I don't like these kinds of things in any movie, as I do not want to see people having their "moments". I know that married people do, I just don't want to see it. Or implying that Jane's brother and cousin are sleeping together before they marry. In Jane's day that kind of behavior would have been highly scandelous and would have damaged the reputation of the whole family, and thus the chances of unmarried daughters, to marry someone decent. She wrote about it in Pride and Prejudice, about Lydia and Wickham.
I don't like it that I can't let my teenage daughters see this movie. I don't want them exposed to the innuendo, and bare bottoms.
I do like the movie midway through, when the relationship between Jane and Tom is blossoming. I love the way he Looks at her while dancing at the ball. I like that she thought of his family and their need of his supplying financial support, and that she sacrifices her chance of marrying him, for their greater need. I like that he named his eldest daughter Jane.
It could have been a charming, enjoyable movie if not for some of the things above, and if it didn't pretend to be Jane's life story.
I won't be buying this movie to add to my collection, but that James McAvoy has amazing eyes.
3 comments:
El and I haven't seen this movie and based on the *many* ill reviews, I doubt we will.
It's my understanding that A&E is coming out with a biographical movie about Jane Austen...come December. The A&E version of Pride & Prejudice was excellent so I'm assuming/hoping/pleading that the Jane Austen bio will be as well.
I'm with you hoping that it will be as good as their version of "Pride and Prejudice".
Did you hear that PBS is going to be showing movies of Jane's books, some new, on Sunday evenings, beginning in January? I need to pop over to their website and look it up.
I'm so glad you told me! I was going to take my daughter to see this as we love Austen and have seen all the movie adaptations at least 5 times! How dissapointing!
Manuela
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