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Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane is a 2007 biographical romantic drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. It depicts the early life of the British author Jane Austen and her lasting love for Thomas Langlois Lefroy. American actress Anne Hathaway stars as the title character, while her romantic interest is played by Scottish actor James McAvoy. Also appearing in the film are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith. This was Ian Richardson's final film performance before his death in the same year as the film's release. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including Ecosse Films and Blueprint Pictures. It also received funding from the Irish Film Board and the UK Film Council Premiere Fund.

Becoming Jane

Graham Broadbent
Robert Bernstein
Douglas Rae

  • 9 March 2007 (2007-03-09)

120 minutes[2]

United Kingdom
Ireland

English

$16.5 million[3]

$39.4 million[3]

The film is partly based on the 2003 book Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Hunter Spence, who was also hired as historical consultant. The final screenplay, developed by Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood, pieced together some known facts about Austen into a coherent story, in what co-producer Graham Broadbent called "our own Austenesque landscape." According to Hood, he attempted to weave together "what we know about Austen's world from her books and letters," and believed Austen's personal life was the inspiration for Pride and Prejudice.[4] Jarrold began production of the film in early 2006, opting to shoot primarily in Ireland as he found it had better-preserved locations than Hampshire, England, where Austen was raised.


Released firstly in the United Kingdom on 9 March 2007 and in other countries later in the year, Becoming Jane earned approximately $37 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews from critics. Hathaway's performance received mixed critical reception, with some reviewers negatively focusing on her nationality and accent. Commentators and scholars have analysed the presence of Austen characters and themes within the film, and also noted the implementation of mass marketing in the film's release.

Plot[edit]

Jane Austen is the youngest daughter of Reverend George Austen and his wife, Cassandra, who have yet to find a suitable husband for her. She aspires to be a writer, to the dismay of her mother and proud delight of her father.


Thomas Lefroy is a promising lawyer with a bad reputation, which he describes as "typical" for people in the profession, and is sent to live in the country by his uncle to calm him down. There he makes a terrible first impression upon meeting Jane, when he nearly falls asleep while she gives a reading of her work. Overhearing his subsequent criticism, Jane cannot stand the arrogant Irishman. Meanwhile, she turns down the affections of other men, including Mr. Wisley, the nephew and heir of the wealthy Lady Gresham. Wisley proposes but Jane ultimately rejects him due to her lack of affection for him. The mischievous Tom encounters Jane again; they argue but increasingly take interest in each other and Tom demonstrates that he takes Jane's literary aspirations seriously. In time they fall in love.


Tom, Jane, her brother Henry and Jane's rich widowed cousin, Eliza, Comtesse de Feullide, conspire to receive an invitation from Tom's great uncle and benefactor, the Lord Chief Judge Langlois, for the rich "Madame La Comtesse" and her friends. This visit to London is meant to be a short break in their journey to see Jane's brother, Edward, and would allow Judge Langlois to get to know Jane and give a blessing for their marriage.


Full of hope, Jane cannot sleep during the night at the Judge's place. In a flow of inspiration, she then begins the writing of First Impressions, the manuscript that will become Pride and Prejudice. However, Judge Langlois receives a letter informing him of the genteel poverty of Jane's family and he refuses to give Tom his blessing, declaring that he would wish Tom to be the whoremonger he had been rather than allow him to live in poverty because of a bad marriage. Tom tells Jane that he cannot marry her and she is crushed, not knowing that Tom has a legitimate reason; his family depends on him financially.


Jane returns home and soon learns that Tom has become engaged to someone else at the arrangement of his family. Cassandra learns that her fiancé, Robert Fowle, has died of yellow fever while stationed abroad. Then Jane accepts the marriage proposal of Mr. Wisley, who had not lost hope that she would change her mind. Later, Tom realises he cannot live without Jane and returns, asking Jane to run away with him, for "What value will there be in life, if we are not together?" Jane agrees, and they leave, with only Jane's older sister, Cassandra, knowing they plan to marry in secret.


On the way, Jane stumbles upon a letter from Tom's mother, and realizes his situation: he sends money he receives from his uncle back to his parents and siblings, and his family cannot survive without it. She tells Tom that they cannot elope, not with so many people depending upon him. He insists that he and Jane must marry and tells her he will earn money, but Jane tells him that it will not be enough; he will never be able to make enough money to support his dependants with a High Court judge (his uncle) as an enemy and with a penniless wife. Distraught, Tom asks her if she loves him, and she replies, "Yes, but if our love destroys your family, then it will destroy itself, in a long, slow degradation of guilt and regret and blame."


Jane returns home and receives a proposal from John Warren. She declines, and suddenly accuses him of being the one who wrote to the Judge and denied her chances of happiness. Lady Gresham informs Jane that Mr. Wisley is withdrawing his proposal, but Wisley and Jane talk afterwards and part as friends.


Twenty years later, Jane, now a successful author and, by choice, unmarried, sees Tom during a gathering. Henry, now married to Eliza, brings Tom to her. Tom introduces his eldest daughter, who admires Jane's novels. Tom's daughter asks Jane to read aloud, but as Jane rarely does so Tom remonstrates with his daughter calling her by name - which is also Jane. Astonished that he named his eldest after her, Jane agrees to her request. The last scene shows Tom's daughter sitting by Jane as she reads aloud from Pride and Prejudice, while Tom watches Jane affectionately. As she concludes, their eyes meet and Tom joins the rest of the company in honoring Jane and her work with applause.

Becoming Jane: Original Motion Picture Score

31 July 2007

2007

46:50

Themes and analysis[edit]

Fictionalisation of plot[edit]

Jon Spence, the author of the biography the film was based on, identifies "Tom Lefroy as the love of Austen's life and her relationship with him as the origin of her genius. But he never suggests that there was an aborted elopement (much less subsequent reading sessions with any of Lefroy's children). And he is careful, as the filmmakers are not, to clarify that in speculating about Austen's romantic experience he is reading between the lines of the family records and of the three rather opaque Austen letters that are his principal sources."[37]


An important deviation of the film's plot from history is that there is scant evidence in real life Austen and Lefroy's relationship went beyond acquaintance. Rather, all that is known of them together is that they danced at three Christmas balls before Tom returned to school and that Jane was "too proud" to ask his aunt about him two years later. In the latter years of Tom Lefroy's life, he was questioned about his relationship with Jane Austen by his nephew, and admitted to having loved Jane Austen, but stated that it was a "boyish love".[38] As is written in a letter sent from T.E.P. Lefroy to James Edward Austen Leigh in 1870,

Release and reception[edit]

Premiere, theatrical release, distribution and box office[edit]

The world premiere of Becoming Jane took place in London on 5 March 2007.[57] It was released to cinemas on 9 March 2007 in the United Kingdom[58][59] and a week later in Ireland by Buena Vista International.[8] It ultimately grossed £3.78 million in the UK and Ireland, placing in sixteenth among all UK films for the year in those markets. Sixty-three per cent of the audience was female, and 40.5 per cent were above the age of 55.[60] The film's performance was considered "disappointing", and it influenced the US release date.[61] It arrived in Australia on 29 March.[62]


Miramax Films distributed the film in the United States,[63] giving it a release date of 3 August 2007.[64] Originally, the studio intended to release Becoming Jane in June or July due to a "counter-programming" strategy,[note 1] attempting to attract demographic groups who were not interested in large blockbusters.[61] The film was expected to perform well during all seven days of the week and gradually gain more viewers during its time in cinemas. Due to the presence of recognizable stars such as Hathaway, Becoming Jane was expected to also do well among mainstream audiences. However, due to its weak UK release, the film's release was moved to August, when it opened on 100 screens in its first week. It increased to 601 screens the following week, later reaching 1,210 screens.[61] While the film made under $1 million in its first week, it was considered "a highly respectable showing for a heritage biopic" and enough of a figure to "justify a ten-week run."[65] The film eventually grossed a total of $18,670,946 in the US.[64]


On an international scale, Becoming Jane received a total of $37,311,672. It earned its highest grosses in the US, the UK, and Australia.[64]

Home media[edit]

Becoming Jane was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on 10 September 2007,[66] a month after it arrives in cinemas in the US. On 12 February 2008, Disney and Miramax released the DVD and Blu-ray in the US.[67] Both versions contained audio commentary with Jarrold, Hood, and Bernstein, deleted scenes, "Pop-Up Facts & Footnotes," and a featurette called "Discovering the Real Jane Austen".[68][69] The US home video rights to the film have since been picked up by Echo Bridge Entertainment and the film has seen several reissues on Blu-ray and DVD, often packaged with other films such as Jane Eyre.

Critical response[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 58% based on reviews from 140 critics, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The site's consensus states: "Although Becoming Jane is a well-crafted period piece, it lacks fresh insight into the life and works of Jane Austen. The film focuses too much on wardrobe and not enough on Austen's achievements."[70] On Metacritic the film has a score of 55% based on reviews from 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[71]


The New York Times called the film a "triumph" for Hathaway, but observed that "the screenplay's pseudo-Austen tone is so consistent that its lapses into modern romance-novel fantasy threaten to derail the film."[72] Entertainment Weekly called the film "a charmer," articulating that "the supporting cast (Julie Walters, Maggie Smith, James Cromwell) is top-drawer; and Anne Hathaway, with her coltish beauty and frank demeanor, is a welcome Jane."[73]


Critics lauded Hathaway and McAvoy for the chemistry between their characters, finding that it lent authenticity to the love story between Austen and Lefroy.[74][46] While Hathaway was admired for her performance by some critics,[74][73] some reviews negatively focused on the inauthenticity of her accent.[75] James McAvoy defended the decision of casting Hathaway by stating that a director should, "find the right actor…and [she] is undoubtedly brilliant."[76] Hathaway herself admitted the persistent tendency to "sound too much like myself and not at all like Jane", blaming cold weather in Ireland, which meant she had to do voice retakes for several scenes.[5] Nonetheless, Jarrold praised Hathaway for her performance. In a wrap up party after the filming, the director confessed that the actress had been a different person, "not just her accent but also the whole character, the way of holding yourself and speaking was so completely different".[10]


Time Out London gave a positive review, noting: "Overall, the approach is less fluffily contrived than you'd expect, and though the alignment of circumstance and social status thwarting innocent passions is hardly fresh, it's handled with thoughtful decorum. The emotional temperature's rather restrained as a result, but with luxury casting all down the line ... elegant visuals balancing verdant and velvet, and a delightful faux-classical score, it's a classy package, all right – just missing the extra spark."[77] Some reviewers have questioned the historical accuracy of the film, criticising, for instance, the depiction of the relationship between Austen and Lefroy.[78][79]

Timeline of Jane Austen

Jane Austen in popular culture

Reception history of Jane Austen

(UK)

Official website

(US)

Official website

at IMDb

Becoming Jane

at Box Office Mojo

Becoming Jane