Becoming Jane

Ah, Jane Austen. I enjoyed watching this, but it was heartbreakingly sad. I'll definitely have to read her books someday, they'll probably be ten times more amazing than the movies. I'm not saying the movies are bad, but typically movies are always a bit worse than the books that they're based off of. *Shrug* At least, that's my opinion.

I admire that Jane Austen didn't accept Mr. Wisley's proposal when she had the chance, that she wanted to marry for love. Unfortunately for her, love came to her in a most desirable and yet impossible form. To me, and I'm not usually the type of person who thinks this way, fate seemed to frown upon Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy. Not in a forbidden love kind of way, and not that well-maybe-they're-just-not-meant-to-be kind of way either. I saw it in a very simple view: that they're love was true, but fate did not deal them the right hand for them to pursue it.

As a movie, I enjoyed it very much. My favorite scene was the one in which Jane was walking in the woods with that deaf friend of hers, communicating to him in sign language. Tom, who appears to be numb from suppressing his emotions for her for too long, walks up to Jane and begins to apologize for something that I won't reveal : P Jane responds very curtly, almost coldly. However, the deaf man asks her in sign language if she is in love with Tom. Jane shakes her head vigorously and goes into a long explanation as to why she doesn't love Tom in sign language. Then Tom, appearing to snap out of his numb reverie-ish state, runs forword growling, "I can't take this!" and proceeds to kiss Jane fiercely. Jane kisses him back intensely, as if she too had been surpressing her emotions for too long. Then, once their lips part, she starts beating his chest with all of the force she can muster. The deaf man watches all of this with increasing confusion, and I found this scene to be quite funny/bittersweet.

Despite my positive opinion of the movie, I do have to admit that I liked Pride and Prejudice better. There was more happening in that movie, more to get into. Also, I thought that Keira Knightley looked more like the role of a young woman of the eighteenth century than Anne Hathaway did. They both did incredible as far as the acting goes, but Anne Hathaway just didn't look the part to me. This is just one small complaint, though, because Anne Hathaway did a fantastic job (as always).

I'll leave you readers with this: If you're thinking of watching a Jane Austen based movie, then watch Pride and Prejudice. If you like that, then watch Becoming Jane. I suppose I'll have to watch Sense and Sensibility someday, but probably not for a while. Once I do, it'll be interesting to see how it compares with the others...

So, what is SunnyD reading now? Well, I'm reading something for my bookclub called Gone by Michael Grant. I'm the first person of my bookclub to read it, so my review will affect how many others read it after me. I'm about halfway through it, and I think I'll give it a lightly positive review (but that could change). The story is intriguing and the author writes it well, but the ending is very key. Basically, the entire story is centered around one pivotal aspect of their altered world, and I won't know whether or not I approve of the book until I get to the answer of the huge mystery. It'll be at the end, though, because once it is discovered that'll be the end of all the central plot points.

~I'm enjoying the weekend, I hope you all are too!