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| editing = Emma E. Hickox | editing = Emma E. Hickox
| distributor = ] | distributor = ]
| released = {{flagicon|UK}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Ireland}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Finland}} ]<br>{{flagicon|US}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Sweden}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Spain}} ] | released = {{flagicon|UK}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Ireland}} ]<br>{{flagicon|Australia}} ]<br>{{flagicon|US}} ]
| runtime = 112 min.(1 hr. and 52 min.) | runtime = 112 min.(1 hr. and 52 min.)
| country = {{UK}}<br>{{USA}} | country = {{UK}}
| language = ] | language = ]
| budget = €12,500,000 (estimate) | budget = €12,500,000 (estimate)
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| imdb_id = 0416508 | imdb_id = 0416508
}} }}
'''''Becoming Jane''''' is a ] film that was released in 2007. The film is based on the early life of author ] (portrayed by ]), and her possible flirtations with ] (played by ]-winning Scottish actor ]). ], ] and ] also appear in this picture. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including ] and Irish Film Board. '''''Becoming Jane''''' is a 2007 film inspired by the early life of author ] (portrayed by ]), and her possible flirtations with ] (played by ]-winning Scottish actor ]). ], ] and ] also appear in this picture. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including ] and the Irish Film Board.


''Becoming Jane'' was directed by ]. The cast was selected by Gail Stevens and Gillian Reynolds, costumes designed by Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, and original soundtrack composed by Adrian Johnston. ''Becoming Jane'' was directed by ]. The cast was selected by Gail Stevens and Gillian Reynolds, costumes designed by Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, and original soundtrack composed by Adrian Johnston.
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==Location== ==Location==


'''''Becoming Jane''''' was shot in Dublin and some countryside of Ireland (), instead of Hampshire, U.K., the birthplace of Jane Austen. The movie indeed received funding from the Irish Film Board, but as Julian Jarrold said, the decision was mainly driven by the fact that ‘Hampshire now is groomed and manicured and we were able to find in Ireland was a sense of countryside that felt more unchanged. That was one of the things that I really wanted to get...a sense of the landscape in which Jane Austen grew up. Ireland also has a great variety of Georgian houses and older houses as well. I think it gave us quite a different and interesting look for the film’<ref name="felce"/>. James McAvoy supported the decision by stating that he liked the fact that the houses in Becoming Jane were 'left to recede a bit more, a bit more gritty that you haven't seen in Austen films' and thus portrayed a 'sense of reality and a sense of poorer world' in the ] Period.<ref name="britfilms"/> '''''Becoming Jane''''' was shot in Dublin and some countryside of Ireland (), instead of Hampshire in England, the birthplace of Jane Austen. The movie indeed received funding from the Irish Film Board, but as Julian Jarrold said, the decision was mainly driven by the fact that ‘Hampshire now is groomed and manicured and we were able to find in Ireland was a sense of countryside that felt more unchanged. That was one of the things that I really wanted to get...a sense of the landscape in which Jane Austen grew up. Ireland also has a great variety of Georgian houses and older houses as well. I think it gave us quite a different and interesting look for the film’<ref name="felce"/>. James McAvoy supported the decision by stating that he liked the fact that the houses in Becoming Jane were 'left to recede a bit more, a bit more gritty that you haven't seen in Austen films' and thus portrayed a 'sense of reality and a sense of poorer world' in the ] Period.<ref name="britfilms"/>


Interestingly, ] was also the very place Tom Lefroy used to spend a lot of his summer time. Tom even had a name for his feelings towards County Wicklow: ‘Wicklow trance’, which, as his son Thomas Lefroy explained, was a ‘household word in our family circle from the great admiration he had for the scenery of the County Wicklow where for many years he spent his summer vacations’ (''Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy'', 1871, p. 37)<ref name="lefroy">Lefroy, T. 1871, Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy, Hodges, Foster & Co., Dublin.</ref>. Interestingly, ] was also the very place Tom Lefroy used to spend a lot of his summer time. Tom even had a name for his feelings towards County Wicklow: ‘Wicklow trance’, which, as his son Thomas Lefroy explained, was a ‘household word in our family circle from the great admiration he had for the scenery of the County Wicklow where for many years he spent his summer vacations’ (''Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy'', 1871, p. 37)<ref name="lefroy">Lefroy, T. 1871, Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy, Hodges, Foster & Co., Dublin.</ref>.
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Since the first house of Jane Austen in Steventon was pulled down in 1824,<ref name="Tomalin"/> scenes at Steventon Rectory were filmed in Higginsbrook House (spring 2006).<ref name="byrne">O'Byrne, R., 2007, How Higginsbrook became Jane's House , The Irish Times, Available: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/property/2007/0308/1173121314890.html</ref> Higginsbrook was a house a few miles off Trim in County Meath, Ireland. The house was built circa the first half of 18th century and now belongs to Christopher Gray and his family. It also had a ‘diminutive grandeur’, hence it helped portraying the financial status of the Austens (Revd. George Austen was not a man of wealth). Apparently, Higginsbrook performed well, for later in autumn 2006, it appeared again as the house of the Morlands in ]. Since the first house of Jane Austen in Steventon was pulled down in 1824,<ref name="Tomalin"/> scenes at Steventon Rectory were filmed in Higginsbrook House (spring 2006).<ref name="byrne">O'Byrne, R., 2007, How Higginsbrook became Jane's House , The Irish Times, Available: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/property/2007/0308/1173121314890.html</ref> Higginsbrook was a house a few miles off Trim in County Meath, Ireland. The house was built circa the first half of 18th century and now belongs to Christopher Gray and his family. It also had a ‘diminutive grandeur’, hence it helped portraying the financial status of the Austens (Revd. George Austen was not a man of wealth). Apparently, Higginsbrook performed well, for later in autumn 2006, it appeared again as the house of the Morlands in ].




==DVD release== ==DVD release==
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Revision as of 12:48, 28 November 2007

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Film
Becoming Jane
File:Becoming Jane.jpgPromotional movie poster for the film
Directed byJulian Jarrold
Written byKevin Hood
Sarah Williams
Produced byGraham Broadbent
Robert Bernstein
Douglas Rae
StarringAnne Hathaway
James McAvoy
Julie Walters
James Cromwell
Maggie Smith
CinematographyEigil Bryld
Edited byEmma E. Hickox
Music byAdrian Johnston
Distributed byMiramax Films
Release datesUnited Kingdom March 9
Republic of Ireland March 16
Australia March 29
United States August 3
Running time112 min.(1 hr. and 52 min.)
Country United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget€12,500,000 (estimate)

Becoming Jane is a 2007 film inspired by the early life of author Jane Austen (portrayed by Anne Hathaway), and her possible flirtations with Thomas Langlois Lefroy (played by BAFTA-winning Scottish actor James McAvoy). Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith also appear in this picture. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including BBC Films and the Irish Film Board.

Becoming Jane was directed by Julian Jarrold. The cast was selected by Gail Stevens and Gillian Reynolds, costumes designed by Eimer Ni Mhaoldomhnaigh, and original soundtrack composed by Adrian Johnston.

Although the film goes beyond what is proven fact in assuming a real relationship between Austen and Lefroy, the original screenplay was inspired by real events, which were chronicled in the book Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence, who was the historical consultant on the film. In fact, prior to Spence’s book, Radovici (1995) and Tomalin (2000) have also acknowledged the romance between Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy. Tomalin’s book was also used as another anchor in making Becoming Jane.

Synopsis

Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) is the younger daughter of a minister, Reverend Austen and his wife (Julie Walters) who has yet to find a suitable husband. She wishes to be a writer, much to the disdain of her mother and pride of her father (James Cromwell). She turns down the affections of numerous men, including the nephew of Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith), a Mr. Wisley. Mr. Wisley proposes, but Jane turns him down cold. It is not until the mischievous Thomas Lefroy, a promising lawyer with a reputation (who becomes the inspiration for Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy) (James McAvoy) shows up in town that Jane begins to take marriage seriously. After a bad first impression, Jane cannot stand the self-centered Londoner but the two get to know each other and eventually fall in love. Tom takes Jane to London to try and convince his uncle and benefactor, Judge Langlois, to let him marry Jane. The Judge considers it, but after receiving a letter informing him of Jane's poor family, he refuses. If Tom marries Jane, he will disown his nephew. Jane insists that she and Tom can still marry, but he says he has his family to think about and, outraged, she leaves London.

On her return home, Jane informs Mr. Wisley that she will marry him after finding out that Tom has come back to town with a new fiancee. Meanwhile, Jane's sister Cassandra has learned that her fiancee, Robert Fowle, has died of yellow fever. The girls are both devastated. Jane meets Tom again in a wood, where he asks her to run away with him. She agrees, but when they are halfway there, she learns that Tom's parents, along with his many brothers and sisters, depend on his allowance from his uncle to survive. Tom promises that he loves her and can still make money, but she refuses because without Judge Langlois's money, Tom's family will suffer. She ends her affair with Tom, returns home to her family, and begins to write Pride and Prejudice.

Years later, we see Jane, her brother Henry and his wife Eliza (Jane's cousin, a contesse) at a social function. As they are leaving, Jane sees a familiar man. Henry chases after him and, later, Jane meets for the first time in years, Thomas Lefroy and his eldest daughter (named Jane), who is a huge fan of Jane Austen.

Critical reception

By April 2007, Becoming Jane had screened in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Sweden; reviews of which mostly originated from the first three countries. Popular movie review site, Rotten Tomatoes, credited the movie with a 58% approval rating. Most supporters of the movie praised in terms of the original screenplay, which was derived from biographies and letters of Jane Austen, the simple costumes of the late 18th century, the original soundtrack (orchestrated by Adrian Johnston) and solid performance by a leading cast.

File:Austen women in cricket.jpg
Watching a game of cricket in Becoming Jane

Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy were particularly praised for their powerful chemistry that made the love story between Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy so genuine. Hathaway was also admired for her fresh take on Jane Austen. Becoming Jane has however also received some negative reviews. Some viewers commented on the nature of the American Hathaway being cast as such a famous English author, and whether her accent was convincing enough. These critiques have invited reactions from movie supporters. Some believe that Hathaway’s accent is appropriate for Jane Austen, making her suitable for the role. James McAvoy defended the decision of casting Hathaway by stating that a movie creator should “find the right actor…and she (Hathaway) is undoubtedly brilliant”. McAvoy further added that Hathaway was “the best Jane for the film”. Actress Anna Maxwell Martin (playing Cassandra Austen) stated that when the cameras stopped rolling, Hathaway’s accent was sometimes “a bit of a hybrid but I don’t think she ever sank completely." Anne Hathaway herself admitted the persistent tendency to “sound too much like myself and not at all like Jane” due to cold weather in Ireland, thus she had to undergo voice retake for several scenes. Nonetheless, director Julian Jarrold praised Hathaway for her total transformation in becoming the Jane Austen. In a wrap up party after the filming, Jarrold 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’. Jarrold and McAvoy further praised Hathaway as the 'real Austenite' who were impressed with her more than adequate knowledge on Jane Austen.

Some reviewers have questioned the historical accuracy of the movie; as an example, one promotional poster shows Jane holding a fountain pen. The creators of Becoming Jane have clearly stated, however, that it is not a biopic in spite of using many historical facts from Jane Austen’s life. The co-producer of the film, Graham Broadbent, explained that they ‘joined the dots in our own Austenesque landscape’. As probably anticipated by the movie creators, the most apparent side effect of the historical questioning is the increased public interest to learn about Jane Austen (through her novels, letters and biographies). This has added to the established interest generated from recent Austenian movies, e.g. Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. In addition, costumes worn by the characters from Becoming Jane have been exhibited in Jane Austen’s House in Chawton, Hampshire (where she lived from 1809 until 1817, a few months prior to her death in Winchester) to accommodate the fans’ curiosity and romanticism.

Cast

Location

Becoming Jane was shot in Dublin and some countryside of Ireland (including County Wicklow), instead of Hampshire in England, the birthplace of Jane Austen. The movie indeed received funding from the Irish Film Board, but as Julian Jarrold said, the decision was mainly driven by the fact that ‘Hampshire now is groomed and manicured and we were able to find in Ireland was a sense of countryside that felt more unchanged. That was one of the things that I really wanted to get...a sense of the landscape in which Jane Austen grew up. Ireland also has a great variety of Georgian houses and older houses as well. I think it gave us quite a different and interesting look for the film’. James McAvoy supported the decision by stating that he liked the fact that the houses in Becoming Jane were 'left to recede a bit more, a bit more gritty that you haven't seen in Austen films' and thus portrayed a 'sense of reality and a sense of poorer world' in the Regency Period.

Interestingly, County Wicklow was also the very place Tom Lefroy used to spend a lot of his summer time. Tom even had a name for his feelings towards County Wicklow: ‘Wicklow trance’, which, as his son Thomas Lefroy explained, was a ‘household word in our family circle from the great admiration he had for the scenery of the County Wicklow where for many years he spent his summer vacations’ (Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy, 1871, p. 37).

It is also intriguing to note that Chief Justice Tom Lefroy spent the three last years of his life in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, in a villa of Newcourt he rented in 1866. He died there as well on 4 May 1869 (Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy, 1871, p. 382). Bray was also one of the locations of Becoming Jane filming in March-April 2006. There is no evidence that the filmmakers were aware of the fact that Bray was the place where Tom Lefroy took his last breath, nor that Tom Lefroy was very fond of County Wicklow.

Since the first house of Jane Austen in Steventon was pulled down in 1824, scenes at Steventon Rectory were filmed in Higginsbrook House (spring 2006). Higginsbrook was a house a few miles off Trim in County Meath, Ireland. The house was built circa the first half of 18th century and now belongs to Christopher Gray and his family. It also had a ‘diminutive grandeur’, hence it helped portraying the financial status of the Austens (Revd. George Austen was not a man of wealth). Apparently, Higginsbrook performed well, for later in autumn 2006, it appeared again as the house of the Morlands in Northanger Abbey (ITV 2007).

DVD release

Becoming Jane on DVD was launched in the UK on 10 September 2007, a month after the premiere in the United States, and in Australia on 12 September 2007. It is set for a 12 February 2008 release in the United States.

Soundtrack

The Original Soundtrack is currently available and features the numerous scores and instrumental music featured in the film, including the theme of the "Bastingstoke Assembly" to which Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy dance together for the first time.

A track listing for the album is as follows:

1. "First Impressions"
2. "Hampshire"
3. "Bond Street Airs"
4. "Bastingstoke Assembly"
5. "A Game of Cricket"
6. "Selbourne Wood"
7. "Lady Gresham"
8. "Advice From a Young Lady"
9. "Laverton Fair"
10. "To the Ball"
11. "Rose Garden"
12. "Mrs. Radcliffe"
13. "Goodbye Mr. Lefroy"
14. "Distant Lives"
15. "The Messenger"
16. "An Adoring Heart"
17. "Runaways"
18. "A Letter from Limerick"
19. "The Loss of Yours"
20. "To Be Apart"
21. "De vieni non tardar (from 'Le Nozze di Figaro')"
22. "Twenty Years Later"
23. "A Last Reading"

Awards

Becoming Jane received the Truly Moving Picture Award in 2007.

References

  1. Radovici, N. 1995. A Youthful Love: Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy? Merlin Books, Devon
  2. ^ Tomalin, C. 2000, Jane Austen: A Life, Penguin Books, London
  3. ^ Williams, S., 2007, Not so plain Jane , Telegraph Magazine, Available: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/02/17/smjane117.xml
  4. Rotten Tomatoes. 2007. Becoming Jane. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/becoming_jane/
  5. Smith, A. 2007. Becoming Jane. http://www.empireonline.com.au/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=1...
  6. ^ Elley, D. 2007. Becoming Jane. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933022.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
  7. Anne Hathaway Web. 2007. James McAvoy: Judge Anne Hathaway as an actor not her accent. http://www.annehathawayweb.com/pressroom/news.php?newsid=25
  8. Anne Hathaway Web. 2007. New Film: Passion for Love. http://www.annehathawayweb.com/pressroom/news.php?newsid=27
  9. Buckley, J. 2007. Becoming an expert in squeezing into corsets. http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/film/article/1157146648859?packedargs=suffix%3DSubSectionArticle
  10. ^ Felce, S. 2007. Becoming Jane Q&A with Anne Hathaway and director Julian Jarrold. Phase9 Entertainment. Available: http://www.phase9.tv/moviefeatures/becomingjaneinterview1.shtml
  11. ^ Britfilms, 2007, Becoming James McAvoy, Julian Jarrold & Robert Bernstein , Britfilms.tv, Available: http://www.britfilms.tv/index.php?id=1856
  12. John Warren is a non-fictional character - he was a friend of Henry Austen, and provided Jane with a sketch portrait of LeFroy.
  13. ^ Lefroy, T. 1871, Memoir of Chief Justice Lefroy, Hodges, Foster & Co., Dublin.
  14. O'Byrne, R., 2007, How Higginsbrook became Jane's House , The Irish Times, Available: http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/property/2007/0308/1173121314890.html

External links

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