Jane Austen, The Early Years
- Title: Becoming Jane
- IMDb: link
Jane (Anne Hathaway) is a beautiful country girl who enjoys sharing her works with her neighbors. Into her life arrives young Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) an Irish scoundrel from the city sent out into the wilderness by his uncle (Ian Richardson) for his inappropriate behavior. Tom scoffs Anne’s writings and her surroundings, infuriating the young woman.
Fans of Hollywood romances can guess what happens next. A friendship between the pair begins as Tom introduces Jane to new ideas and Jane shows Tom that the city doesn’t hold all of the world’s wonders.
Although the story is rather straight-forward it is well-handled and enjoyable. Hathaway proves more than up to the task in making the role her own and carrying the film, though I do wonder at why an English actor (like say Kiera Knightly) wasn’t chosen for the role. McAvoy provides some good humor to the role and there is nice, if constrained, chemistry between the pair. Add to all this a supporting cast which includes Maggie Smith, James Cromwell, and Julie Waters and you’ve got a good film.
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