I Prefer This Film of Jane Austen's Life
Miss Austen Regrets: (From PBS Masterpiece Classic): Based on the life and letters of Jane Austen (Olivia Williams), Miss Austen Regrets tells the story of the novelist's final years, examining why, despite setting the standard for romantic fiction, she died having never married or met her own Mr. Darcy.
Becoming Jane: (From Wikipedia): Becoming Jane is a 2007 historical film inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway), and her posited relationship with Thomas Langlois Lefroy (James McAvoy). The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including BBC Films and the Irish Film Board.
8 comments:
Anne Hathaway really did her research on this movie and inspired an interesting interpretation in Australia?
As I explained in one of my posts some time ago ( http://flyhigh-by-learnonline.blogspot.com/2009/03/bit-of-jane.html ) the two movies give two different outlooks on Jane's personality. I called the "Becoming Jane" outlook "adolescent" and that in "Miss Austen regrets" "adult". And I liked them both, differently, but thoroughly.
I enjoyed both. You're forcing me to choose? Although, criticized for its inaccuracy, I enjoyed "Becoming Jane" for a brief glimpse of what life might have been like for Jane. After viewing movies based on her books, it was nice to see one based on HER life! Okay, so Tom Lefroy was not the love of her life, it was still fun to imagine!
As for "Miss Austen Regrets", I felt immersed in her life. It was beautifully filmed AND it had Hugh Bonneville which makes my heart glad! Olivia Williams did a wonderful job but I thought they focused on her bitterness more than her joie de vivre? For the record, my emotional vote goes to Becoming Jane.
Well said, all three of you. My sense is that people are going to have a hard time voting if they saw good aspects to both movies, and an easier time of it if they enjoyed viewing one movie tremendously. Surprisingly, I had a hard time voting (I thought it would be easy), and my vote went in an entirely different direction than I intended.
It's Becoming Jane for me.
Sadly I haven't seen either yet, but I after reading this I really want to find a copy of Miss Austen Regrets.
I liked them both but must give the edge to "Miss Austen Regrets" I find Jane much more interesting as a mature woman.
Like others, I love both -- but "Becoming Jane" is absolutely my favorite! Since it was released in the U.S., I've watched it a thousand times... and I'm sure I'll be sitting down to enjoy it again soon! Regardless of the inaccuracies -- and that's an issue, sure -- I found it romantic, sweeping and just... magical.
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