The timeless tale of a woman better than her circumstances is given new vibrancy in Anne Hathaway’s Portrayal of the authoress who made the tale timeless.
Regan Humphrey
Becoming Jane (2007) follows lauded English author, Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) in her youth as she courts the two and only loves of her life: Fiction-writing and Thomas Lefroy (James McAvoy), a penniless barrister. Their love is obstructed by the limitations of their social positions and cannot be realized in marriage, despite their undeniable connection. But refusing to marry without love, being even unable to elope with it, speaks to Jane’s character, her principles, her sense of duty, without which her beloved contributions to the literary world might not exist.
REF SCORE: 30%
Soundtrack: 10%
Story: 100%
Writing: 80%
Diversity: 70%
Daring: 60%
Racism: PRESENT – 20%
Gender Bias: PERVASIVE – 60%
Homophobia: ABSENT – 0%
SUMMARY
Even the stunning chemistry of Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy cannot disguise this film as yet another over-romanticized white-washed depiction of 18th century England by British filmmakers. That, coupled with a forgettable soundtrack and a script that sometimes fuddled dialogue in attempting sophistication, makes this film a nuanced and appetizing, if ultimately unmemorable, look into the life of one of the world’s greatest authors.
ref score 