Review of Miss Potter (2006) by Paul F — 06 May 2009

I give Miss Potter two cotton tails up, way up & dipped like brushes in vibrant water colors. I can see why some might not like this type of movie. It is not about action, special effects (though the animation was quaintly pleasant), nor not even necessarily about love, which seemingly was marketed as such.

I will say however that the love between Norman & Beatrix was quite touching. I was totally convinced that these two were totally meant to be together. As much as I or other audience members might want this to be about true love found, Miss Potter ultimately was about something else entirely different, or at least had a whole other major aspect to it. It seemed as if the movie at one point completely shifts becoming a different story all together. I found this quite unexpected.

Before I go into the details of this shift I want to mention the way society was portrayed in this time, especially the courtship of Norman and Beatrix really made me long to live in that era. His manner was so polite, respectful, & genuine. And Beatrix though a strong willed lady & somewhat a feminist for her time remained a lady of virtue as well as heart felt emotion. I was touch at heart to see such a beautiful interaction. I was reminded how my life & society in general has lost much of this innocence that a more simple time & social boundaries can bring.

Beatrix & Norman did not rush things, or almost even know what was happening within them. It just naturally sort of evolved. Their interplay unencumbered analogous to a seamless dance, which in the movie culminated to a climax when they actually did dance. There is a lesson to be learned from this Taoist like way of living.

***WARNING MAJOR SPOILER*** Don?t read further if you have not seen the movie. I was surprised and saddened by the demise of Norman. This completely changed everything. This is when the soul of the movie deepened & Miss Potter really showed what she was made of. Though I?m convinced their love of each other was portrayed on the level of soul mates, Miss Potter gets back to nature letting it inspire & nurture her spirit to shine once again but with a little something extra that only a certain kind of suffering can temper.

In kind Beatrix lets this healing flow back out into the world by loving people & animals with intelligence about how to live, & ultimately how to preserve it for generations to come. Taking a dramatic turn her life takes on a quite yet profound enlightened way of being. You could really see it in her eyes that her lover?s death was forever embedded in her soul as she continued her work upon the earth. If I had to classify this movie emotionally in one word I?d have to say it was bittersweet. Great movie, worthy of any viewer who values the transformational effect of a genuine & powerful spirit which still touches this earth long after her passing.

Honorable mentions go to Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor whose incredible acting brought these characters back to life once again. Certain actors have chemistry, & these two definitely had it. I so wanted these two characters to find happiness as they beamed with it so strongly in their short but touchingly sweet time together. I guess instead of a comedy I found a tragedy of sorts, which really was more of a trying but profound actualization of an incredible young lady into the best woman she could be.