I had all three of these responses to the movie, which Tom & I saw yesterday with Peggy & Shawn.
UGLY
1. The prostitute scenes were long, redundant and unnecessary.
2. The men skinny dipping scene was unnecessary, and not in character of the times or Jane Austin.
BAD
1. This is NOT a biography. This movie is fiction, and it is unfortunate that some people will not realize it.
2. This was a 21st century, or at least a 20th century story, not an early 19th century story. There are so many examples - starting with the forwardness of Jane.
UGLY
1. The prostitute scenes were long, redundant and unnecessary.
2. The men skinny dipping scene was unnecessary, and not in character of the times or Jane Austin.
BAD
1. This is NOT a biography. This movie is fiction, and it is unfortunate that some people will not realize it.
2. This was a 21st century, or at least a 20th century story, not an early 19th century story. There are so many examples - starting with the forwardness of Jane.
3. I doubt Jane, the pastor’s daughter, read Tom Jones. And she would not have read it out loud in front of a single gentleman.
GOOD
1. All the “insider” aspects. It was fun to see the well know and well loved characters from Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility and even Persuasion . It was fun to see the themes of her books presented in her life.
2. WARNING: SPOILER
The conflict and climax of the story was excellent, though fictional and modern. Jane is passionately in love with a poor, but witty and well educated man. He returns her affections, but will be disinherited if he pursues her. The separate with tears, but he returns and convinces her to elope. They chose poverty with love rather than to be apart. I am okay with that – he is a smart young man and should be able to make a living. The climax is when Jane reads a note and realizes that Tom is more honorable than she had realized… That he was sending a portion of his monthly allotment from his rich uncle to his mother. This money was all that was keeping the family afloat. Jane realizes that their love will not only send them into poverty, it will destroy Tom’s mother and younger siblings. And that if they chase after their personal happiness at such a cost, even their love will eventually die because it is built on such selfishness that willingly hurt others. So she does the right thing; she goes home and leaves Tom to return to his uncle and his obligations. The dénouement of the story was also very satisfying. The older Jane is shown – obviously still in love with Tom, and yet with no bitterness or anger. The end of this movie portrays a graceful, godly woman. I would like to think that is what the real Jane was like.
GOOD
1. All the “insider” aspects. It was fun to see the well know and well loved characters from Pride & Prejudice and Sense & Sensibility and even Persuasion . It was fun to see the themes of her books presented in her life.
2. WARNING: SPOILER
The conflict and climax of the story was excellent, though fictional and modern. Jane is passionately in love with a poor, but witty and well educated man. He returns her affections, but will be disinherited if he pursues her. The separate with tears, but he returns and convinces her to elope. They chose poverty with love rather than to be apart. I am okay with that – he is a smart young man and should be able to make a living. The climax is when Jane reads a note and realizes that Tom is more honorable than she had realized… That he was sending a portion of his monthly allotment from his rich uncle to his mother. This money was all that was keeping the family afloat. Jane realizes that their love will not only send them into poverty, it will destroy Tom’s mother and younger siblings. And that if they chase after their personal happiness at such a cost, even their love will eventually die because it is built on such selfishness that willingly hurt others. So she does the right thing; she goes home and leaves Tom to return to his uncle and his obligations. The dénouement of the story was also very satisfying. The older Jane is shown – obviously still in love with Tom, and yet with no bitterness or anger. The end of this movie portrays a graceful, godly woman. I would like to think that is what the real Jane was like.
1 comment:
Good review, Mom. I too had mixed feelings about the film. The random sensuality did not seem to be in keeping with JA's novels...even the scene between her parents early in the film made me uncomfortable. I suppose the sensuality is just more evidence that that was a 21st century version of a 19th century story.
Like you, I loved how the screenplay wove in elements of JA's fictional characters such as Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine. Was Tom supposed to be Mr. Wickham or Mr. Darcy?? Hard to tell.
Jane's forwardness in flirting with Tom and willingness to elope reminded me more of Lydia Bennet than Lizzie. Still, there is something interesting in a woman who writes about the woman she wishes she could be, even if she is not.
You raised my attention to the positive ending. She did do the right thing, and she did not grow bitter over it. I was happy that the story took money more seriously toward the end. In the 21st century, it's hard to imagine anyone being too poor to marry, but that was a reality back then.
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