I watched this with Alisa last night. And I will not speak for her, but if this is anything close to the truth, my estimation of Jane Austen has fallen greatly.
I truly disliked this movie, and found it as far from romantic as it could possibly be. The acting was fine, actually it was quite good, but the story itself. Jane comes off as a lovesick stupid little girl. As ridiculous as Lydia Bennett, or Mary Ann from Sense and Sensibility. As caught up in the idea of romance so deeply that she has no eyes for the substance of actual love.
The object of her infatuation (and I say infatuation, because I don't believe for a second that real love played any part in this story), was a man so devoid of redeemable qualities as to be almost comic. He is arrogant, condescending, immoral, disrespectful, unconstant, disloyal, selfish, and completely disregards her reputation etc..
He shows nothing but disdain for those he sees as 'beneath' him. And not in some mistaken prejudice like Mr. Darcy, no, in a genuine belief that he is better than rif raff that live in the country, or people who would write drivel like jane, etc..
I'm not positive why this movie rubbed me so the wrong way. It may be that it reminds me of the infuriating way in which girls today (some girls) view romance and the idea of love. McAvoy's character came off as somehow dashing and exciting. Which Jane quickly, in her romanticized mind, translated into wonderful. How did he first catch her attention, after being an insufferable lout? Was it to do some wonderful deed for her? Or to be incredibly thoughtful in the vein of Mr. Darcy? No, it was to give her a dirty book. A flat out dirty book. Woo Hoo. How romantic.
Her treatment of the man who actually seems to care for her also does her no service. Why is it that this man is unacceptable to her? Is it that he is ungentlemanly? No. Is it that he doesn't care for her? No. Its because she thinks he isn't that interesting. Does she take the time to know him? No. He just isn't exciting. She treats him poorly, and blames him for something he did not do.
I can't say how much I disagree with the message, tone, and 'romance' of this movie. I truly, truly disliked it.
I realize that mine is not the only opinion. And I respectfully disagree with those who specifically liked this movie. For those who want a differing view. Go here.
Sorry Breanne, we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Give me Pride and Prejudice, or Persuasion (the older, not the newer). Those are truly romantic movies/stories with men who are deserving of the love that those strong women grant them.
7 comments:
In defense of Marianne:
To be perfectly honest, I couldn't care less about Becoming Jane. No, perhaps that's not true. I could probably care less if instead of James McAvoy as the "love interest" they had... I dunno... Gary Busey. *shudder* However, I fail to see how Marianne could possibly be fairly compared to Lydia. Is there anything that isn't abhorrent about Lydia? (including her face... at least in the 2 versions I've seen) Her only excuse for being 100% stupid and annoying is her age, but does anyone believe that time will change that? I doubt it.
Marianne, on the other hand, is a romantic. She puts a lot of faith in Willoughby- there's no reason she shouldn't... everyone believes he is good and honorable. When he disappoints Marianne, it is a good lesson for her. She is then able to grow up and fall in love with fabulous Brandon who is good and kind and shares her love of the arts- even if he's not as obsessively passionate about them as she is. Marianne makes stupid 17-year-old mistakes, but she grows and learns from the and doesn't deserve to be lumped with Lydia. So quit taxing my gig so hardcore. K, cruster?
Viva Bollywood!
You are right that Marianne and Lydia are different. I used the two in conjunction to cover two different aspects of the stupidity. Marianne was so caught up in the romantic notion that she didn't even see Brandon. Didn't even see his good qualities at all. And, though she does in the end come around, she did continue to harbor this 'love' (see infatuation) with Willoughby after she discovers he is a rake and a cad.
Lydia is just stupid. Can't disagree with you there.
Brandon was twice her age!! Good heavens! And he wasn't overtly romantic... as she expected from a suitor. P.S. You're totally Brandon... In that: How long did it take for Alisa to see you're good qualities? Lame. You're too lame. Super-lame. Fact.
Actually, I'm much more Gilbert than Brandon.
And this is jolly old England, who cares if he was twice her age. Thats a uber lame argument.
My only point in saying that you were Brandon was that you can't blame fabulous Marianne for not seeing his good qualities right away. You can't blame Alisa for not seeing your good qualities (which I'm still suspicious of) for years. And you're not Gilbert. Nice wishing, though. P.S. Mom says YOU'RE the lame one.
The only person who's opinion matters thinks I am, so there lame o.
And Marianne wasn't fabulous. She was moon eyed, and naive. She was a good girl, but not more. The fabulous one in that story was the elder sister.
I fell asleep 10 minutes into this movie, and I have seen Pride and Prejudice more than all of you combined (ask my wife, I quote it to her). Everything was not good about it.
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