Starring Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, James Cromwell, Julie Walters
Written By: Sarah Williams, Kevin Hood
Directed By: Julian Jarrold
Studio: Miramax
Buy on Amazon.com

Every ten years or so, we experience a Jane Austen revival, and a flurry of movies & BBC specials come out. As a confirmed Jane-ite, I was pretty psyched that they’d do a movie about an episode in her life, in addition to all the mini-series & movie adaptations of her books.

Becoming Jane was a sweet, entertaining little film. Anne Hathaway made a good Jane Austen, and James McAvoy made a suitably charming bad-boy (and damn good-looking) Tom Lefroy. It touched on the issues of being a female writer and balancing it with the societal expectations of women as wives and mothers at the time, and also the economic necessities of love and marriage- a major theme of most of Jane Austen’s books. Even knowing the basic outline of Jane’s life and how the film must end, it was still an enjoyable escapade, and seeing how they’d resolve everything was thoroughly engaging.

So, all in all, I’d call this an enjoyable little romantic film, with some funny moments, some heartbreaking moments, and lots of lovely costumes (esp. James McAvoy’s suits.)

Features:
Discovering the Real Jane Austen
Deleted Scenes
Becoming Jane Pop-Up Facts & Footnotes

Audio:
Widescreen 2.35:1

Video:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Spanish Language Track

Subtitles:
French, Spanish

Favorite Scenes: When Tom & Jane meet in the woods after Tom’s walk in the country; and the dance sequences.
Rating: PG
Running Time: 120 minutes
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