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I've never been a particular fan of the 'quaint' English costume drama, so I'm certainly not the target audience of this latest addition to the genre, which purports to tell the true story of Jane Austen's life rather than adapting one of her novels. Suffice to say, Becoming Jane did not convert me into a fan of such films, but it wasn't bad. The acting was perfectly good, with the background roles filled by reliable thespians such as Maggie Smith and Julie Walters, and the lead romantic pairing was appealingly portrayed by Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy. The latter plays an Irishman, and although his accent was rather from the Sean Connery School of Irish Accents (i.e. more like Scottish - see The Untouchables for Connery's attempt), it didn't really matter as the essential romantic chemistry was present. Director Julian Jarrold wisely chose to use some handheld camerawork, which lessened the stuffiness that can often be associated with costume dramas and made it seem more real (thankfully, though, he kept the unnecessary camera shaking to a minimum). The main flaws were that the pace was extremely slow - although no slower than other similar films, I'd imagine - and the ending was rather predictable, due to the 'true story' aspect. Becoming Jane doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but it generally succeeds at what it aims to do. If this sort of film appeals, I doubt it'll be a letdown.
The summary
Becoming Jane doesn't really get anything particularly wrong; it's competent but unremarkable. Fans of Austen's novels should be in their element though.
