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Reviews Counted:133
Fresh:77
Rotten:56
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Although Becoming Jane is a well-crafted period piece, it lacks fresh insight into the life and works of Jane Austen. The film focuses too much on wardrobe and not enough on Austen's achievements.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating]
Runtime: 2 hrs
Genre: Romance, Historical, Theatrical Release, Romantic Comedy, Writers, Romances, Authors
Theatrical Release:09-03-2007
Synopsis: BECOMING JANE is based on an incident in the life of the beloved writer Jane Austen, and follows the real-life romance that inspired her classic novels. Like many of her heroines, Jane (Anne... [More]
Starring: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell
Director: Julian Jarrold
Utilizing a lovely British accent and a graceful way with words, Hathaway communicates Austen's predicament beautifully. When she was creating her immortal heroines... the real Jane Austen must have pictured someone like Hathaway.
Empty, empty-headed, anf full of cliches. Don't expect Austen brilliance from this pedestrian film.
Anne Hathaway concludes the thorough evolution from Disney princess to serious actress. With commanding wit and a deft British accent, she's more than convincing as a wickedly intelligent woman restricted by proper society.
The film’s notion of Austen’s great works being nothing loftier than the result of failed puppy love suggests the filmmakers perversely believe that gross oversimplification is a virtue.
An agreeable period romp, missing the spark of the high-end Austen adaptations but firmly in command of its own romantic devices.
The movie goes down easy, but there's a thin line here: is this an homage or a parasite?
After approximately fifteen minutes into the film, however, I forgot about the accent and realized that Anne’s exuberance and dramatic range are fitting for this portrayal of the celebrated literary figure.
...more 'chick flick' than recent Oscar-nom'ed Austen adaptations, but it's cut from more or less the same cloth, albeit less durable.
Clearly embraces the spirit of the beloved novelist.
Once you admit that the Jane Austen depicted onscreen bears scant relation to any person named Jane Austen, living or dead, the film fulfills its purpose.
Becoming Jane isn't purposefully cynical but if you stop to consider it, it rather undermines Austen's great talent.
[C]aptures both the aching romanticism and the cold, hard practicalities of Austen's fiction...
Neither the best nor the worst of the Jane Austen adaptations. However, nor is it likely to be remembered for very long after it passes across your eyes.
One can only hope that Becoming Jane will inspire moviegoers to find out more about this beloved literary great. Or hopefully revisit one of her classic novels.
...drops the ball almost immediately by emphasizing some seriously hackneyed plot twists and an overall atmosphere of predictability...
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Hathaway and McAvoy bring some genuine, if discreet, sparks to their secret romance, but there's something fundamentally lifeless about director Julian Jarrold's shallow gloss on Pride and Prejudice.
[McAvoy] and Hathaway simply aren't given much to do together, and they have two long hours to do it in. Screenwriters Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams seem reluctant to risk the ire of Austenites.
The movie has an immense charm that sneaks up on you. Ultimately, it's a delicate ode to love and honor -- and to writing and reading.
There's a lot to recommend Becoming Jane, particularly the performances. Hathaway does more than survive. If she doesn't seem like a literary genius, she at least seems like a worthy Austen heroine -- intelligent, independent and brave.
December 06, 2007:
James McAvoy on Atonement: The RT Interview
Scottish actor James McAvoy has shot several films in the last few years (Becoming Jane, The Last King of Scotland, and the eagerly anticipated Wanted) but so far remains most... More...
August 05, 2007:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Bourne Beats Bart for Box Office Crown
Matt Damon set a new opening weekend record for the month of August with the top spot bow of The Bourne Ultimatum, the third installment in the actor's signature spy series. The... More...
August 02, 2007:
Bourne Is Certified Fresh; Hot Rod Hits the Skids; Bratz is Grade-Z; El Cantante Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we got amnesiac spies (The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon and Julia Stiles), loser daredevils (Hot Rod, with Andy Samberg and Isla Fisher), salsa... More...
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