Becoming Jane

The problem, for me, with a romance story about an historical figure like Jane Austen is that we know going in that it will come to naught. She never married, so the only question is, what will screw up the great love of her life? In this case it’s class and money. The worthless aristocracy of the day never seemed to consider that they might do some actual work for a living, which is hardly surprising, as they didn’t know how to do anything as simple as hang up a coat. The threat of losing one’s inheritance was like a death sentence. Jane’s paramour here meekly submits to that threat, and then when he reconsiders and wins her back, she ultimately decides it wouldn’t work. She’s probably right. She might be able to support him in later life, but at the time of this story she is just learning. In addition to being predictable, this movie is agonizingly slow to the point of being boring. I just sort of wondered why it was made at all. I guess some writers and directors view a period piece like this as a prestige project, and the actors like to dress up. Poor excuse to make a movie.