OK for kids 12+
A witty, winning Austen bio for tweens and older.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this film is a delightful exercise in imagination. No one truly knows whether Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy shared a grand passion, but the movie makes a great case for it. It's a romantic, often funny tale that tweens and teens will enjoy, though there are parts that could prove dicey for younger audiences, including a sexual interlude between Jane's parents and a brazen flirtation between an older woman and a younger man. (The banter may also go a little too fast for them to understand.) The language is sometimes complicated for younger audiences ("impecunious"), but it's fairly innocuous, except for one expletive ("s--t").
- Families can talk about why Tom's uncle thinks Jane isn't worthy of marriage and why they couldn't simply decide to be together. What standards were in place at the time? Do these requirements seem cruel or unjust?
The good stuff
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Messages: For the most part, everyone's on his or her best behavior, but there's a lot of pressure from society to act in certain ways which Austen views criticall and which gives rise to prejudices (a rich matron looks down on those without money and treats them with disdain) and acts of rebellion (Lefroy, at least in the beginning of the movie, drinks and fights in bars).
What to watch for
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Violence: A few characters box in a bar; basically, they brawl while others bet on their match, and the results are quite bloody.
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Sex: Save for one humorous but surprisingly risqué scene in which Jane's father hints at performing oral sex on his wife under the covers, the movie is quite chaste. Some kissing and lots of flirting; an older woman seduces a younger man, who's all too willing to return the favor. Also, Lefroy and his friends frequent a brothel, where women revealing much cleavage proposition men.
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Language: Mostly clean, though "s--t" is uttered once, and there are a few "dammits" sprinkled in. Also, some women are referred to as "whores."
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some drinking in bars; wine for toasting and dinners.
Fan Reviews provided by
4
Becoming movies with integrity by susanmbeyer
So glad to see such movies being produced. America's youth is inundated with movies full of violence, sleeze, crude language, romantizing of sex, drugs. My husband and I don't go to R-rated movies and have walked out on many PG-13 (that should have been rated R). Nice to find a movie of the calibur of Becoming Jane. It actually teaches some history! People's lives (biographies) are far more interesting than meandering through the vivid and perverse fantasies of movie producers who don't have a real clue as to what America wants or needs. We need more uplifting movies, more movies about integrity, kindness, sacrificial love and especially faith. My 2 cents.
4
Becoming Jane Review by zeech11
The movie was inspiring. The plot actually started taking twists into directions that I could not even guess what ould happn next. I loved it.
4
Sad but Good by romance girl
I love romantic movies and novels. Jane Austen is one of the most profound writers that ever lived. I was sooooo excited to see this movie, but left the theater feeling really sad. It starts off kind of slow and cheesy, but then becomes this mature look on love and loss. As the movie progressed it was a beautiful, yet haunting depiction of what it's like to find yourself truly in love. I thought it was a very realistic look at falling in love. If Jane Austen really did experience love in this way, then this movie really can touch the heart of women of all ages. Go see this movie, but know that you may leave the theater feeling like your heart has been broken along with Jane's.
5
amazing! by shana688
honestly i am very surprised this movie has not made more money in the box office, the acting is absolutely amazing, the story line perfect and the humor just right. One of the few movies i have see 4 times in the span of 2 and a half weeks!
5
A MUST SEE for any Austenite / Anglophile by Blondana
As a true Austen lover and a frequent traveler to England, I went into this this VERY skeptical as I just could not picture Anne Hathaway playing a period role such as this. I have to say she was exceptional and not once did I find myself noticing that she was "trying to act" English - I was that into the movie. I also was worried as I had heard it was based on truth - but that a lot had been assumed. It did not go to far with this and most of what was covered "could" have happened as we know so little of her life. The questions of how close she and Mr Lafoy actually were is still unanswered. The scenery is gorgeous, the costumes divine and the chemistry between James McAvoy and Anne Hathaway is incredible. I have never seen him before and my daughter and I both have serious crushes on him now! He is a very good actor. Great to see Ian Richardson one last time as well. BRAVO!
5
"Did you believe it" by wthayer210
I am not much of a technical specialist regarding what makes a movie good or bad but a friend told me how to be a good judge of a movie. Simpley statement ;"Did you believe it". I believed everything I saw and heard in "Becoming Jane" The acting is subperb-Ann Hathaway is surely to get an Academy Award nomination for her portrail of Jane Austen as well as the other actors for supporting roles. You would think a love story set in 18th century England and Ireland would be slow and boring. Not so this movie; I felt myself gripping my seat to wait for what would happen next in this thrilling love story. It is nice to see a good, holesome family movie being made which attracts all types and ages of viewers. I highly recomment this move to all
4
delightful by create_art
A fan of Jane Austin books and movies, I was not disappointed with Becoming Jane. It did not matter if the story was not the true tale of her life; the movie allowed my imagination to consider the possiblity. The eras quirks of language, manners, culture and romanticism were all present and I was transported for a couple hours to another life. Perhaps the writing was not as good as Jane Austin's own and the the accents were not spot-on for every word...they were enough that my imagination could do the rest. A delightful movie.
4
Engrossing if not groundbreaking by charlesives
Although probably fictional, the movie reveals some tantalizing correspondences between Jane Austen's life and her most famous novel, Pride and Prejudice. Ann Hathaway is charming but not quite up to the part. Still, the movie is worth seeing if you are one of the many Pride and Prejudice junkies.
5
It is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all... by doodledish
I think this movie was amazing it is very hard to make me cry because of a movie but this one accomplished it. Some people may say that this movie is not good because it does not have a happy ending but life doesn't have a happy ending or at least the ending you want. this movie had an ending that was considerate realistic and in my mind happy. I am a firm believer that it is better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all and this movie is a testament to that.
5
!8th Century Romance by kittyfan
The story of Jane Austen was a romantic tale during the late eighteenth century. Morality and appropriateness was highly prized and would affect ultimate decisions by individuals. The movie took a comment from Chief Justice Lefroy and made the passionate, though reserved, love story into what it may or may not have actually been. Anyway, the acting was superb and the plot touching. Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy were excellent as the romantic duo. The mores of the times were deftly presented. The twentieth century and twenty-first century have much to learn from this time, however, it is great to live in a less repressed society