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| Miss Austen Regrets 2008 |
As close as we have to a biopic at this point in time, Miss Austen Regrets is a sweet, slightly sentimental film about the end of Jane Austen's life. It reflects on her history and choices with alternating regret and satisfaction. As most Jane Austen lovers (and all Jane Austen scholars) have strong opinions about what she was actually like, there will never be a biopic which satisfies everyone. I liked this little film however, and it certainly makes you think. Was she anything like Olivia Williams portrays her? Likely not (she was definitely not that handsome) but it's wonderful to speculate isn't it?
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| Fanny Knight and Jane Austen- Miss Austen Regrets |
The well known loving relationship between Jane Austen and her niece Fanny Knight is portrayed brilliantly in this film. Both Olivia Williams and Imogen Poots (is that a great name or what?) do a wonderful job alternately joking affectionately and then sparring which is what you would expect from a relationship this close.
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| Cassandra and Jane Austen- Miss Austen Regrets |
Greta Scacchi does a marvelous job as Jane's sister Cassandra as does Phyllida Law as her mother Mrs. Austen. We only get a peek at two of Jane's six brothers however, and only a few of her nieces and nephews appear but then again this is only a 90 minute production.
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| Jane Austen and Rev. Brooke Bridges- Miss Austen Regrets |
The most contentious issue in this film would have to be the portrayal of the various men in Jane Austen's life. Cassandra Austen made sure that this topic would be debated for centuries when she burned the majority of Jane's letters (which was her prerogative by the way) so I suppose this is one version of the truth, drawn from the letters which remained.
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| Her darling children- Miss Austen Regrets |
So, all in all, I would highly recommend this film. I think it much better than Becoming Jane (which I still enjoyed, largely because of James McAvoy) and since I got it as a bonus when I purchased Sense and Sensibility 2008, I really can't complain. So go ahead and enjoy another sumptuous offering from the wonderful BBC. What would we do without the Beeb?
James was the only reason why I liked Becoming Jane, Anne Hathaway was a very bad choice for the role...
ReplyDeleteThank you for recommending this film, will have to watch it! :)
I really enjoyed this movie too. You can actually see Jane's health deteriorate throughout the movie and understand better why Jane died so young.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about "Miss Austen Regrets". I have not been able to watch it. Admittedly, I have not pursued it, because of my disappointment over "Becoming Jane".
ReplyDelete@Marina and Mom Wald- If you haven't seen the latest Sense and Sensibility miniseries (screenplay by my adored Andrew Davies) it's worth getting (or renting/borrowing) the whole thing as they are packaged together. Much as I love Emma Thompson's S&S, there is quite room in my DVD collection for this wonderful longer version!
ReplyDelete@lolmissmolly- Glad you liked it too. I was pretty misty by the end.
I enjoyed it too but it made me so sad that ... I've never seen it a second time. Strange reaction, I know. Love all your recent posts Jenny. Great job. Your blog looks amazing!
ReplyDelete@Maria Grazia- I wonder what your reaction will be on a second viewing. Thanks for the compliment. It means a lot from such an accomplished blogger whose posts I always enjoy reading!
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