Slow and Plodding: Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane
Directed by Julian Jarrold
Released August 3, 2007

The story of Jane Austen's life is exactly what you might expect: a smartly literary tale about an unlikely and impossible romance in the country. This version of that story, complete with Maggie Smith in the token Judi Dench role, is painfully boring and numbingly unoriginal. Anne Hathaway, for all her good intentions and decent accent, is nowhere near as compelling as Keira Knightley, who had a similar role in 2005's film version of "Pride & Prejudice". Even the wonderful James McAvoy (robbed Oscar winner for "The Last King of Scotland") cannot make this film more interesting. Maybe it is simply meant for the literary, classic-loving crowd. If this is your thing, you should enjoy it more than life itself, otherwise you may want to skip it.

C-