'JANE' HAS SENSE AND SENSIBILITIES OF AUSTEN.Byline: GLENN WHIPP WHIPP WhiteWater Head Impact Protection Project >FILM CRITIC "That girl needs a husband." They are among the first words spoken in "Becoming Jane," and they are directed not at Elizabeth Bennett, but toward her creator, Jane Austen. It's an immediate signal that the movie intends to essentially remake "Pride and Prejudice," subbing Austen for Bennett, which means, of course, that "Becoming Jane" can't help but feel a bit like second-hand Austen. But the film's familiarity is pleasant enough, and screenwriters Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood flaunt flaunt v. flaunt·ed, flaunt·ing, flaunts v.tr. 1. To exhibit ostentatiously or shamelessly: flaunts his knowledge. See Synonyms at show. 2. a strong working knowledge of Austen's work, peppering the movie with what amounts to inside jokes for readers familiar with the writer's six novels. The result is smart, engaging romance, enlivened en·liv·en tr.v. en·liv·ened, en·liv·en·ing, en·liv·ens To make lively or spirited; animate. en·liv  en·er n. by charismatic
turns by leads Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy.
"Becoming Jane" is set in 1795 when Austen (Hathaway) is 20 and, yes, in the view of her family, needs a husband, preferably a wealthy one to bolster the family's tenuous financial situation. Jane has such a suitor, Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox), but he doesn't set her heart aflutter a·flut·ter adj. 1. Being in a flutter; fluttering: with flags aflutter. 2. Nervous and excited. Adj. 1. . Enter Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy (McAvoy), the Darcy stand-in who instantly repulses the sense and sensibility Sense and Sensibility is a novel by the English novelist Jane Austen, that was first published in 1811. It was the first of Austen's novels to be published, under the pseudonym "A Lady". of Miss Austen, which means that she's smitten big-time. Lefroy challenges Austen's notions of art, handing her a copy of "Tom Jones" and asking how she can write about the heart when she hasn't had any first-hand experience. "Your horizons must be widened," he tells her, his meaning plain. In the immortal words of Spinal Tap spinal tap: see spinal puncture. , Lefroy's itching to plow through Jane's bean field. For a PG movie, "Becoming Jane" has plenty of heavy breathing. It also plainly (and rather patly) ascribes Austen's later artistic inspiration to the tempestuous tem·pes·tu·ous adj. 1. Of, relating to, or resembling a tempest: tempestuous gales. 2. Tumultuous; stormy: a tempestuous relationship. (and probably fictional) Lefroy-Austen romance. More interesting is the way the film, directed by Julian Jarrold ("Kinky Boots"), explores whether experience is a necessary component in the creation of art. It also certainly challenges the common notion of Plain Jane Austen the Spinster SPINSTER. An addition given, in legal writings, to a woman who never was married. Lovel. on Wills, 269. . Hathaway, in her best work ever, plays Jane as a vibrant, young woman (check out the resigned slouch slouch v. slouched, slouch·ing, slouch·es v.intr. 1. To sit, stand, or walk with an awkward, drooping, excessively relaxed posture. 2. To droop or hang carelessly, as a hat. v. in her walk early in the movie), growing into her wit and insightfulness through trial and error. Naturally, we know the outcome. But there is a happy ending to Austen's story -- just not of the variety she gave to her heroines. It will resonate, though, with anyone who loves her timeless novels. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp@dailynews.com BECOMING JANE - Three stars >PG: brief nudity, mild language. >Starring: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy. >Director: Julian Jarrold. >Running time: 2 hrs. >Playing: Area wide in select theaters. >In a nutshell: Pleasant-enough remake of "Pride and Prejudice," subbing Jane Austen for her literary creation Elizabeth Bennett. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: James McAvoy finds the illumination of candles enough to romance Anne Hathaway in "Becoming Jane." |
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