Becoming Jane
I was gonna write up my thoughts on this flick but Salon did it for me.
I (sheepishly) admit that I've never read any of Austen's novels; but I get the feeling seeing "Sense and Sensibility" or any of the Austen movies would be more informative on her life than this flick was.
That said: it was pretty, and James McAvoy was wonderful. He does amazing things to play deep emotion without saying a word. Anne Hathaway wasn't bad, but she isn't great at playing conflicted. There's a lovely scene where the two meet up mid-dance, and it's all without dialogue, and it's probably the best scene in the film because you can see Jane come to life in the presence of Lefroy.
My conviction that McAvoy could play Lymond remains undamaged. Especially from the two boxing scenes, and the brothel scene. And from the way he can play so many different emotions without moving or opening his mouth.
Now, for something completely different, I'm making a second attempt to read Dahlgren. But first, I'm gonna make that corn chowder I wrote about last week, because I have both a bunch of milk on the edge of sour and several ears of corn.
I (sheepishly) admit that I've never read any of Austen's novels; but I get the feeling seeing "Sense and Sensibility" or any of the Austen movies would be more informative on her life than this flick was.
That said: it was pretty, and James McAvoy was wonderful. He does amazing things to play deep emotion without saying a word. Anne Hathaway wasn't bad, but she isn't great at playing conflicted. There's a lovely scene where the two meet up mid-dance, and it's all without dialogue, and it's probably the best scene in the film because you can see Jane come to life in the presence of Lefroy.
My conviction that McAvoy could play Lymond remains undamaged. Especially from the two boxing scenes, and the brothel scene. And from the way he can play so many different emotions without moving or opening his mouth.
Now, for something completely different, I'm making a second attempt to read Dahlgren. But first, I'm gonna make that corn chowder I wrote about last week, because I have both a bunch of milk on the edge of sour and several ears of corn.