Becoming Jane

Twenty minutes shorter and it might have been truly fabulous...

While I can certainly see the appeal of her characters, and the comforting nature of her stories outcomes, I just don't really find much to sink my teeth into.

So a lacklustre movie about the author, rather inaccurately painting her as one of her own characters, was never going to float my boat...

A charming and at times intriguing biopic, given extra weight by attractive performances from its superior cast, especially McAvoy and Hathaway...

A decision to elope doesn't ring true, instead feeling like a gauche attempt to inject urgency. This toing-and-froing also means there's little time left for the tribulations Austen faced as a female writer straining against the boundaries of Regency society. Austenophiles may turn their noses up at some of the liberties taken, but thanks to the combined charm of the leads, this remains a most agreeable cinematic portrait...