Review of Becoming Jane (2007) by Elizabeth M — 26 Oct 2009

Another attempt to cash in on the Jane Austen popularity surge that was happening at the time, this movie is enjoyable but nothing really special. The kind of movie where you come out of the cinema and answer your companion's question of what you thought with a casual, "Yeah it was good.".

The plot was certainly interesting enough to make me buy it on DVD, and the performances from the cast were all of a good standard. Anne Hathaway managed to do what most American actors don't seem to be able to - a believable English accent! If an American is to be cast as an English character then Anne is a very good choice. I've seen actresses cast in period pieces whose faces just look too modern, but she has a classic kind of beauty, not to mention an English rose appearance, both of which lend her credulance and help her to look at home in the setting.

There's nothing really wrong with this movie at all, it just doesn't really have that special something.