'Becoming Jane' Cast Help Plain Jane Script

 For years, Hollywood has had a fascination with the work of Jane Austin.  Her novels have been adapted countless times and the merits of each adaptation is always fiercely debated by her legion of devoted fans.  Even her fans got their own movie with the 2007 ‘Jane Austen Book Club.’  Yet Austen herself has rarely gotten screen recognition.  A private person in her lifetime, most of her biographical material from her life was destroyed to protect this wish.  That doesn’t prevent the makers of ‘Becoming Jane’ from taking the few known details of her life and flushing out the rest. 
            The movie focuses on Jane (Anne Hathaway) in her early twenties, around the time that he older sister Cassandra was engaged to be married.  Jane is the youngest daughter of a humble minister (James Cromwell), and the last child left in the house.  When the family meets with Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith) and finds her favorite cousin, a Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox) in town, Mrs. Austen attempt to make Jane and him a match.  Wisley is a socially awkward young man, and not the kind of man the idealistic, independent Jane can see herself falling for.
            Nor can she see herself falling for Thomas Lefroy (James McAvoy), the poor, but arrogant lawyer from London who is banished to the country by his uncle for his hard partying ways.  Lefroy’s reputation as a womanizer precede him to Jane’s town of Hampshire, where he will be staying with another uncle while he straightens out.  He makes an immediate, if not pleasant, impression on Jane by insulting her work.  Over time, however, he begins to open Jane’s eyes to more than just her small country lifestyle.  With her affection for Thomas growing, and the advances of Wisley becoming more persistent, Jane is caught in the same scenario as many of her characters.  Ultimately, Jane must choose between her heart and her head, her responsibilities towards her happiness and her duty towards her family, who is in desperate need of the money a dowry from Wisley could bring.
            The film is lifted up by strong performances, most notably Hathaway.  While the filmmakers were criticized for casting an American actress to play the British icon, Hathaway taps into the girlish independence of the young Austen, playing her all-knowing naivety well.  The accent she takes on is well suited for her, hiding the vocal peccadilloes that have weakened some of her past performances.  McAvoy plays the rouge Lefroy with an easy charm that makes it easy to see why so many women fall from him.  Director Julian Jarrold should be commended for keeping the story on track and not wasting time showcasing the costumes and scenery, a practice that is common among period pieces.
            The biggest shortcoming of the movie is an average script.  It always seem vaguely irresponsible to present presumption as fact when dealing with a person’s life story, no matter what you might say in interviews.  The dialogue is written to reflect the vernacular at the time and, while the story still comes across, the average American viewer may feel they are missing something.  But the biggest problem with the script is that the love story between Tom and Jane is really only half cooked.  Other characters are telling Jane she loves Tom before the audience has seen it.  We are able to put the pieces together mostly because we have seen this love story in Austen’s novels.  This is unfortunate since it reminds us that while Tom and Jane are supposed to be the inspiration for Elizabeth and Darcy, the (more) fictional couple did the love/hate thing so much better.
            While the story itself may be lacking, “Becoming Jane” is worth checking out to see the growth of two fine young actors.
 
Grade: B-