Becoming Jane

Witty, romantic, passionate, beautiful and sad. Becoming Jane has risen quickly to one of my favourite films (perhaps along with Memoirs of a Geisha). Watch Becoming Jane and try to understand everything they say – the attempt is well rewarded. The cinematography is beautiful. It’s not just the composition of beautiful wet forests and rustic houses. No, it’s the way they handle those elements. A character’s face will come into view and then a pane of glass will supercede that and then rain will splatter that glass and the camera will pull back to reveal the entire house is being showered while its occupants are all warm inside. Scenes will be shot in passages looking into bedrooms as if the camera is really peeping into a private moment. And I must confess I love the clothing from that era; those dresses and men’s high collars and tailored jackets! Each conversation between Mr. Lefroy and Jane is an art in itself. I particularly enjoyed the library scene and I understood Jane so well when she voiced her view on sarcasm to Lefroy’s uncle at the dinner table.

The story is enchanting, too. Sad and familiar, sometimes, each line strikes like a blow to the heart.