Jane aims high, misses mark

August 24, 2007 —

It's an interesting idea, to take a world-renowned author such as Jane Austen and create a largely fictional tale about her early life. However, as Becoming Jane indicates, it may be an idea best left on the drawing room floor, or in the heads of young readers trying to imagine just what the romantic life of the extraordinary woman who penned so many heroes and villains of courtship was like.

Becoming Jane employs the striking Anne Hathaway to play the part of the young Austen. In a plot detail familiar to Austen readers, her family, especially her mother, would like to see her married off to a rich suitor. Jane, though, is a far cry from the type willing to marry for money. In a plot detail familiar to absolutely everyone at this point, Jane refuses the advances of a rich local bachelor.

Then, a man by the name of Tom LeFroy appears on the scene to challenge the norm and make an impression with his witty and somewhat scandalous ways. It isn't long, though, before the movie makes it clear that he is to be the prototype for Mr. Darcy of the novel Pride & Prejudice.

At this point I found myself looking everywhere for references to Austen's novels, mostly in vain due to my limited knowledge of them. I did note, though, that there was one substantial difference between Tom LeFroy and Mr. Darcy: LeFroy has no fortune, and is entirely dependent on his uncle for money until he can get on his own feet, which seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. If there's any accuracy to the biographical qualities of this movie, then perhaps Austen created Mr. Darcy to be the character LeFroy was only a few economic steps away from being.

Maybe these grasps at straws make this sound like more (or less?) interesting of a movie than it really is. Most of the plot developments are familiar and easy to predict, but some are also rather unexpected, unless, I suppose, one is familiar with major events in Austen's life.

It was also noticeable that not only does the dialogue take cues from Austen's writing style, but it actually takes lines from it. This made me wonder, did people ever actually speak with the elegance of Austen's writing? It seems unlikely, though I could be wrong. But it does illuminate a problem with this movie and many others: the characters do not talk like real people. It's hard to immerse myself into a world where every character spouts Austenian wit without even an "um" in the midst of it.

I did enjoy some of the interactions between Jane and LeFroy, but for all that, I didn't find myself becoming attached to any of the characters. This is not a particularly involving movie, and it moves so quickly that I thought it was going to end much sooner than it did. After two points at which I expected it to end, I realized that this was due to its jumbled presentation.

On the other hand, the camera work is excellent, and the scenery is breathtaking. The opening sequence showing the area surrounding the Austen farm is beautiful, and when LeFroy takes a walk in the woods, I felt that I'd gladly switch positions with him. I could walk through the picturesque countryside, and he could watch me in a mediocre movie.