Becoming Jane

✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews

United Kingdom, Ireland

•

2007

Rated PG • 2h 0m

Director Julian Jarrold

Starring Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Julie Walters, James Cromwell

Genre Romance, Drama

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman.

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WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING?

Stella Rumble

Although it may not be factually accurate, as the film is based off just a couple of snippets from Austen's letters to her sister, this film is definitely an enjoyable watch. There is some lovely cinematography and acting, and accepting that much of the story is not super realistic, I would recommend checking out this film.

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WHAT ARE CRITICS SAYING?

Chicago Tribune by

The solid cast and honest Austen scholarship make Becoming Jane fitfully entertaining. But it's hard for the film to escape the shadow of Austen's superior talent when it filches so much from her books.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein

A bearable period chick flick with a self-congratulatory “realistic” conceit.

Variety by Derek Elley

An ersatz "Pride and Prejudice" in all but name, Becoming Jane is a finely tooled Brit-lit costumer that, like Anne Hathaway's flawless accent as the young Austen, lacks only that final convincing 5%.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

There are enough similarities between the movie and "Pride and Prejudice" that one could be forgiven thinking this screenplay is Austen lite.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

Becoming Jane has a burnished feminine sadness, and the director, Julian Jarrold, gives it a creamy-dark visual flow.

Christian Science Monitor by Peter Rainer

It's movie-making as match-making.

The A.V. Club by Scott Tobias

The film tries to squeeze Austen into one of her novels, and the peg doesn't fit.

Washington Post by Stephen Hunter

So I expect the Janeites who love the author will feel themselves ill-served by the film, which appears to have even less basis in fact than "Shakespeare in Love." As for the rest of us, the question is simpler: Is it worth the eight bucks?

Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold

It's an enjoyable period romance. Yet, ultimately, the unique magic of Austen so beautifully caught in 1996's "Emma" is missing.

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