Product: Becoming Jane [Blu-ray] (2007)
Rating: 3.0
`Jane' became rather dull...
After the success of Joe Wright's magnificent `Pride & Prejudice' I decided to give `Becoming Jane' a try. It stars the beautifully talented Anne Hathaway (I predict an Oscar nomination in the near future for this one) as well as the up and coming British import James McAvoy (another future Oscar nominee I presume), not to mention the likes of James Cromwell and Maggie Smith so I was sure the acting would at least be top notch, and it was. It's not the acting I had a problem with. The story progression was lagging a bit and it made it hard to really invest myself in what was going on. It really wasn't until the final twenty minutes or so that my interest was perked and I cared to follow along.`Becoming Jane' tells the story of Jane Austen, famed author and inspirational source for the majority of Hollywood's glorious period epics. Her life played out much like her novels just with a far less happy ending. Her family is not well off but her parents are in love and so Jane has adopted the idea that it is better to be poor and content then be wealthy and empty; ideas that I can rally behind and applaud. This presents a problem when the wealthy Mr. Wisley makes his advances known towards Jane. She is obviously not interested but her parents are adamant that she accept his proposal. Jane has become smitten with another though, a poorer soul by the name of Tom. Tom, much like the love interests in many of Jane's novels, initially gives Jane nothing by irritation but after a time she falls for him in the most sincere of ways. His Uncle does not approve of his relationship with a girl of her little means and her big dreams and so he forbids the affair before it can truly flourish.The first two thirds of the film seem to drag a bit. They are polished and beautiful to watch but lack the charm and spunk that was brought to Joe Wright's `Pride & Prejudice'. Knightley has a sense of unbridled girlishness that permeates her grace and elegance that young Hathaway did not bring to her performance. She delivers a fine performance in it of itself but she fails to really elevate her material. McAvoy delivers a fine performance as well, and truly steals each and every scene he is in. He is by far the best reason to see this film.The final frames of the movie are far superior to everything leading up to it. It's filled with genuine emotion and sincerity that touches the heart and is moving. Jane's life was unlike her novels only in their endings and I think that's why the ending of this film is so much better than its beginning and middle; it's different. Everything leading up to it plays out like snippets from her best work. We've seen it all before and we've seen it done better so it comes off rather dull and uninspired. The ending though is nothing like the ending of her novels and thus plays out as new and fresh and unexpected.The cinematography is just as beautiful as it's ever been (although this is yet another area in which Wright's `Pride & Prejudice' surpasses this film) and the attention to period detail, from the scenery to the costumes to the buildings, is all astounding. The problem here is that `Becoming Jane' is almost too familiar that it fails to captivate us and make an impact. I still give it three stars because the performances are truly well done and the film itself is well produced; I just wish it had been less predictable and more inspirational.