Like an Austen novel, 'Jane' touches the heart

After reading several harsh comments on Becoming Jane, it's very nice to read a review from someone who understood that the movie was not a biopic, and it was a homage to Jane Austen's life and novel. So, here's the excerpt of a review by Donald Munro of Fresnobee.com; the entire review can be found in this link.

Like an Austen novel, 'Jane' touches the heart

Into the stomp and clatter of the summer movie season comes a tender little film that curls up in your heart. "Becoming Jane," a dramatization of the life of Jane Austen, presents a thoughtful Anne Hathaway as the title character. Though its story in some ways resembles the plot of -- you guessed it -- a Jane Austen novel, there's something refreshingly spare and rough-hewn about this big-screen experience. As a die-hard Austen fan, I was captivated, but I suspect that even the most casual admirer of "Pride and Prejudice" could find plenty to love.

Much of the film's success has to do with Hathaway and a sterling cast of beloved actors -- Julie Walters as Jane's mother, James Cromwell as her father, Maggie Smith as the snooty old biddy who trumpets her pedigree over all -- that never overwhelms the delicate material.

Hathaway, in particular, is radiant without shining too brightly, if that's possible. The last thing we needed in the story of Austen's life was movie-star glamour. Granted, Hathaway can mesmerize the camera. But she seems to realize that Austen was not an Elizabeth Bennett -- the gorgeous if diffident "Pride and Prejudice" heroine -- at least not in any way but her own mind.

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In "Becoming Jane," we trace the story of a tenuous love affair between Jane and the dashing Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy). Most of this is conjecture, of course. There are no archived MySpace pages from the 18th century to measure their interactions, no tabloid headlines, no tell-all autobiography. Just several letters from Austen to her sister mentioning his name. Could Austen's infatuation been as fully realized as shown in the movie? Perhaps. Or it could be that it was little more than a crush from afar.

It doesn't really matter, though, because we aren't dealing with straight biography here but more of an impressionistic spattering of a life. What "Becoming Jane" does so eloquently is weave tidbits of her novels into the author's story. Thus her mother reminds us of the blustery Mrs. Bennett, her clergyman father the kindly Mr. Bennett. Maggie Smith's character could be a dead ringer for Lady Catherine. Jane's relationship with her sister evokes the fierce sibling bond depicted in several of her novels.

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The best part while watching "Becoming Jane" is thinking that this sweet, mild- mannered yet sharp-tongued woman will go on to achieve lasting fame. In the scene of the inevitable country dance -- filmed with a welcome homespun simplicity -- she doesn't stand out in the crowd. But it is she who will be remembered, whose words will be read and treasured, whose stories will inspire beautiful movies of loss and love. It's nice that the big-screen imagining of her life does her such justice.

Pic: Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) carrying Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway), from the U.S. Official Site of 'Becoming Jane'