The Quandary
Upon finally seeing the full trailer for Anne Hathaway’s new movie, Becoming Jane, I’ve been able to pinpoint the source of my violently mixed feelings about it.
I think that, considering the misty, swoony nature of it, I might actually really like it…if I can convince myself that it’s not a movie about Jane Austen. I firmly believe that Jane herself would be horrified by the tone and the totally unsupported “Hey look Jane Austen had a secret love affair!” claim (by which, frankly, I’m pretty horrified, myself). But if I can pretend that the Jane we’re talking about is, like, Jane Smith, or some other non-identifiable Jane, we might be okay.
On the other hand, I kind of only want to see it because…well…it’s about Jane Austen, and I have no sales resistance to things that are either Austenian or claim to be tangentially Austenian (hence the recent trip to the lame Jane Austen Centre in Bath, England, even though I already knew it was going to be bad. No sales resistance, I’m telling you). How can I not?
What to do, what to do? Talk amongst yourselves.
Becoming Jane, Jane Austen, Anne Hathaway
August 6th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Nope, not going to do it. Unless, as you say, one says firmly to oneself that she is Jane Cholmondeley or something. Does that woman seriously look like she wrote *anything* other than a thank you note, much less any of the Great Jane’s wise, witty, and occasionally vicious words? No. But then I *do* have sales resistance to things that glom onto Jane as a marketing ploy. Like those Jane Austen mystery books. Etc. Etc. It is kind of fun that she’s so in vogue, though, I have to admit.
August 6th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
It is true that I’m perfectly able to avoid the “sequels” by modern writers. Ick. I’m definitely with you on that one.
Agreed. Even if it’s sometimes kind of weird, I’d rather have people reading her than not.