Poster |
Synopsis
Miss Austen Regrets chronicles the later life of Jane Austen and her relationship with her niece, Fanny Austen-Knight. Jane councils Fanny on her choice of husband while Fanny tries to get the romantic side of Jane out.
Characters
There are a couple of actors/actresses that you may recognize in Miss Austen Regrets. Olivia Williams (Jane Austen) was seen in Emma (1997) as Jane Fairfax. Hugh Bonneville (Rev. Brook Bridges) was seen in Daniel Deronda as Mr. Grandcourt and also in Downton Abbey as Robert Crawley, Lord of Grantham. Phyllida Law (Mrs. Austen) was also seen in Emma (1996) as Mrs. Bates and is also known as the mother of actresses Emma Thompson and Sophie Thompson. Greta Scacchi (Cassandra Austen) was seen in Emma (1996) as Mrs. Weston.
Jane at an evening with her friends. She seemed to have been holding a glass of wine through at least half of the movie. |
The whole story focused more on Jane's relationship with Fanny, her niece, rather than Cassandra, her sister. I would have liked to see more of Cassandra in this movie; she was in there for a couple of scenes, but not nearly as many as she should have. I didn't like how the Jane/Fanny relationship was portrayed: it seemed like they were reduced to a couple of giggling girls: I really couldn't take either one of them seriously after a while, especially Fanny. Fanny seemed overly romantic and emotional where it got to the point that it was just irritating.
Jane (foreground) with Fanny and Cassandra in the background. |
Scenery
The scenery was nice. The outdoor scenes look lovely, and the indoor scenes in the houses were nice too. There was one scene that had a blue overtone when Jane Austen was running through London: I didn't like that they had the blue overtone. But Miss Austen Regrets does afford some nice views of the English countryside.
Costumes
Fanny and Jane traveling. Here Jane is wearing the turban that she wears for a good portion of the movie. |
Overall:1.5/5
I'll admit the costume and scenery were nice, and the music was quite tolerable enough (though it really didn't stick with me long enough), but I am not convince with this portrayal of Jane Austen. If seemed as if she had the bad qualities of her characters that she created. If a movie can't get the main character right, it doesn't have a good chance of succeeding.
Miss Austen Regrets is available with the DVD version of Sense and Sensibility (2008). It runs for 90 minutes.
Thanks for the heads up. :) Have you read "Just Jane" by Nancy Moser? That was a good book. :) My reviw is here: http://austenitis.blogspot.com/2011/01/just-jane.html
ReplyDeleteAnd I know Melody reviewed it first...
I am so glad you disliked this movie! ;-) I have heard bad reports of it from my oldest sister, and she says Jane Austen never would have acted the way she did in that movie. That makes me mad. >.< And a turban?!?! I can tell from the few of her letters I've read that she was not a person to be constantly in ill-humour. ;-) Someone needs to make a good movie about Jane Austen; they really do!!
ReplyDeleteJust Jane, as Charity mentioned, was a faithful tale of Jane's life. The style of writing rather annoyed me though, and there were mistakes like spelling it "Farras" instead of "Farrars", and I thought that shouldn't have got so far...(it was in there more than once, too.) I preferred 'The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen' by Syrie James...it seemed to me that the author knew Jane Austen a lot better. There were still some things I didn't like (and the main story is actually fiction, but it has a 'what's fact and what's fiction' in the back), but as it was pretty good. ;) (I reviewed that one, too.
This is random, but in one of your comments a long time ago, you said you took a Northanger Abbey quiz. Where did you find it, do you rememeber?
I will be sending you an email soon. =)
This is still me, Elegance of Fashion. Blogger won't allow me to comment as me for some reason. Hopefully this will get resolved soon.
ReplyDeleteCharity U,
I haven't read it. Thanks for the reccommendation! :-)
Melody,
Thanks for the reccommendation! I don't remember where it was that I took the Northanger Abbey quiz. I think I googled "which character from Northanger Abbey are you" or something along those lines. But I don't remember what website it was. I'm sorry.
-- Elegance of Fashion
I told myself I wasn't going to be controversial with my shiny new blog. :D But I have to admit that I like Miss Austen Regrets. I think sometimes in Austenworld, Austen can be idealized into a perfect demigoddess who is always serenely watching over everyone. Although they went a bit overboard with the drinking and flirting, I did like that she was humanized.
ReplyDeleteMimic of Modes,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment! I wouldn't call your comment controversial. I like it when people give their opinions. :-)
-Elegance of Fashion
(Blogger is still not letting me comment as me for some reason.)
Everybody has faults and I am quite sure Jane Austen wasn't perfect, but it annoys me that they choose such imperfections as misrepresent her. ;-)
ReplyDelete