Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Movie Review!.....Becoming Jane

I went to see the latest Jane Austen movie in theaters, Becoming Jane this past weekend. I feel I am pretty attune to the Jane Austen fever that has taken hold in the last few years, as I myself, have gotten the fever. (And the only cure is more cowbell?) Anyway, I do own three different versions of Pride & Prejudice (which doesn't really say much as there are about 25 versions. Did you know that?) Several different Emmas, Persuasion, Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park. I own a series of the BBC versions done in the early 70's. The 1995 BBC version of Pride & Prejudice is by far my favorite; and Colin Firth will always be the true Mr. Darcy to me. I have been to Bath, England, and visited the Jane Austen Center. I saw where she lived! My cats, are named Lizzy and Darcy; I have been learning the score from Sense & Sensibility for the piano. Are you now convinced that I like Jane Austen? Well, to say I was excited for the release of Becoming Jane doesn't convey the 'violence of my affections.' So, we went opening night for our city. We waited in the movie theater for over an hour to catch the late show and it was worth every minute! The movie takes what little knowledge we have of Jane Austen, and for lack of a better word 'embellishes' her life story. If you like Pride & Prejudice, you will LOVE this movie. They are very similar in characters, story, and plot. Anne Hathaway plays Austen and she is fabulous. James McAvoy plays Tom Lefroy, which is Jane's love interest. He is simply amazing in this role. I was very pleasantly surprised to see his performance. And the chemistry between the two! The movie seemed very accurate historically, and was moving, funny, and witty. The end of the movie is extremely touching, and I was unashamedly in tears and even the hubby confessed to a lump in his throat. The bottom line is this: Anyone with any amount of romanticism in their soul will enjoy this movie, but Austen fans will LOVE IT!!! I sure do! So you must go see it now! Make haste, make haste!
Here are a few pics from the movie I found on Google:


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