BECOMING JANE: Blu-ray (Miramax 2007) Alliance Home Entertainment

Nestled somewhere between a quaint pastoral comedy of manners and legitimate bio-pic, Julian Jarrold’s Becoming Jane (2007) – the supposed ‘true story’ of famous English author, Jane Austen has its work cut out, if for no other reason than much of Austen’s brief life remains an enigma. The real Austen was born in Steventon Hampshire, and, was one of eight children. By age 16, she had already produced her first literary work, History of England and was on her first draft of the novel that would eventually become Pride and Prejudice (published in 1813). In 1802, Austen declined the only marriage proposal she would receive; from family friend, Harris Bigg-Wither. Austen would thereafter remain in the company of her sister, Cassandra until her untimely death at age 41, from Addison’s disease. Although Austen produced 6 literary masterworks in her lifetime, she was to enjoy only the fruits of her labors on the first four books; Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were posthumously published. A final and unfinished novel, Sandition exists, but only in fragmented form. It has been suggested by literary critics that in its complexity and wit, Sandition is a work on par – if not, in fact exceeding – the prowess of Austen’s other novels. In a nutshell, that was the life of Jane Austen.

Julian Jarrold’s film is something entirely different; largely eschewing the exploration of Austen as author – ergo, her creative toil and personal sacrifices made for her art. Instead, the screenplay by Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams favors a largely fictional love story between pert pragmatist, Austen (Ann Hathaway) and aspiring attorney, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) whose drunken revelry is the cause of much consternation from his uncle, Judge Langlois (Ian Richardson). Exiled to the country by Langlois, Lefroy meets Austen at a social gathering in the country. He is boorish and easily bored by her. She is discontented with his snap analysis of a public reading she has just given in honor of Cassandra’s pending marriage. As is the case with most clichéd ‘cute meets’ – Jane and Tom take an instant dislike to one another, roiling in a fiery mutual contempt, eventually distilled into that ‘great romance’ of their lives. Jane’s father, Rev Austen (James Cromwell) encourages this match. He is of the notion that, in matters of love, everyone should follow their hearts. Jane’s mother (Julie Walters) however, emphatically does not favor Tom, having orchestrated a forced ‘love match’ between Mr. Wisley (Lawrence Fox), the amiable – if not terribly outspoken – nephew of grand dame, Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith) and Jane. Prodded by his aunt, Wisley proposes marriage to Jane. He is humbly denied.

Tom and Jane journey to London to meet Tom’s uncle and secure his blessing for their marriage. However, the meeting is an utter catastrophe with Langlois threatening to deny his nephew his considerable fortune. Tom next plans to run off with Jane – an elopement that would ruin them both socially and financially. Instead, Jane recognizes the futility in their escaping the convention of their times - a disease of the age, as well as of the mind. After a bittersweet parting, the film fast tracks to some undisclosed later date with Jane and Tom accidentally meeting in a concert hall. Neither looks all that much older, though they are clearly denoted as more mature adults by the introduction of Tom’s grown daughter, Jane (Sophie Vavassuer) whom Austen takes into her confidence for a final public reading. As pure fiction, the story is not so much lacking as it rarely sparks the sort of inspired romance one generally associates with Austen’s own best works, translated with infinitely more flare as Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Emma (1996). The Hood/Williams’ screenplay awkwardly strains to make Austen’s life as story-book satisfying as one of her novels, but belly-flops on the performances given by Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy as our star-crossed/ill-fated protagonists. Thanks to cinematographer, Eigil Bryld we get a lot of the lush English countryside to fill in the gaps and moderately sustain our interest. But it’s the pacing that’s off: no time allotted for the arc of romantic longing to stir and then cool between Jane and Tom. They appear as adversaries in one scene and locked in a passionate embrace in the next - the latter, exquisitely photographed in a moonlit garden.

To be certain, Bryld’s cinematography where landscapes are concerned is quite lovely. But his close-ups leave a great deal to be desired. The entire cast, certainly Hathaway and most particularly, McAvoy appear rather sickly, with pasty flesh and unflattering shadows exaggerating facial lines and bags under their eyes and around their cheeks. As photographed, there is no bloom of youth to contrast with the aforementioned later scenes where age and time have withered such physical robustness to mere memory. While this sort of ‘naturalist’ approach might be in keeping with the times (certainly the 1800’s knew nothing of key lighting and spectral highlights) it is out of touch with audience’s expectations for romantic melodrama between two impossibly beautiful human beings. If, as the movie’s publicity suggest “Jane Austen’s most extraordinary romance was her own life” than in the final analysis Becoming Jane is not Austen’s life, but a sloppy re-edit, presenting mere snippets of social complexities derived from her novels and misrepresented for her own. As such, the overall arc of this foreground narrative becomes static, not satisfying – less of a good time and more of a postcard wishing we could all be there.

Alliance Home Entertainment delivers a beautifully rendered, Blu-ray, capturing all of the essential beauty of the original theatrical experience. Colors, particularly greens in foliage and blues of the ocean are vibrantly depicted. Flesh tones are accurately pasty. Contrast levels are bang on with very deep solid blacks and pristine whites. Fine detail is evident even during the darkest scenes. The audio is 5.1 DTS and delivers a very pronounced experience for this primarily dialogue-driven movie. Extras include two brief featurettes, several deleted scenes and an informative audio commentary from the director and his writers. Bottom line: largely forgettable, if occasionally pleasing to look at, Becoming Jane is a disposable entertainment.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

2

VIDEO/AUDIO

4.5

EXTRAS

2