Miss Potter

Only the most curmudgeonly won't delight in this tender, inventive movie -- Miss Potter.

There aren't many movies that one can recommend to all of his or her friends, but Miss Potter may be the rare exception.

It has flair, style, and humanity.

Rene Zellwegger -- not everyone's favorite -- only occasionally simpers in her sensitive, forceful performance as writer Beatrix Potter.

Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson fit perfectly into their very likable characters.

The direction, screenplay, and art direction are all first-rate. And the sparing use of animation is wonderful. Peter Rabbit never looked so charming.

In 1902, in London, the spinster Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) is a thirty-six year-old woman who lives with her bourgeois parents. Her snobbish mother Helen Potter (Barbara Flynn) had introduced several bachelors to Beatriz until she was twenty years old but she turned them all down.

Beatrix Potter has been drawing animals and making up stories about them since she was a child but her parents has never recognized her as an artist. One day, Miss Potter offers her stories to a print house and the rookie publisher Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor) is delighted with her tales and publishes her first children's book.

The successful selling leads Norman to publish two other books and Miss Potter becomes the best friend of his single sister Millie Warne (Emily Watson). Sooner they fall in love with each other but Helen does not accept that her daughter marries a "trader". However, Beatrix's father Rupert Potter (Bill Paterson) proposes that his daughter spends the summer with his wife and him in their country house in Lake District and if she is still interested in Norman after the summertime, he would bless their marriage. When Miss Potter stops receiving letters from Norman, she is disappointed. Until the day she receives a letter from Millie explaining what had happened to Norman.

"Miss Potter" is a beautiful film about the life of the British writer of children's books Helen Beatrix Potter. This writer is not popular in Brazil and "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was only published in Portuguese in 2009.

I saw "Miss Potter" without knowing that it was biographical and I found very sad when she loses Norman. However, Renée Zellweger once again has a magnificent performance in the role of a woman ahead of her time. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Miss Potter"

Every time I see a book or a character of Beatrix Potter, it brings a nostalgic feeling that takes me back to when I was 7-10 years old, the time when I discovered her books and fell in love with them. I still love all the characters. Her paintings always amuse me with the delicacy, detail and creativity behind it and the books remain a favourite children's book to me.

Noonan does a a meritorious job of his presentation of Miss Potter. Though it's not exactly an accurate portrayal, the storytelling is commendable. He already has shown what an excellent storyteller he is in 'Babe' and 'Miss Potter' is an equally story that isn't overly saccharine-filled. He has a talent of showing spirited characters and relationships. The animation is used wonderfully giving us a glimpse of Beatrix's fantasy world. I also liked how her works were effectively introduced (without looking like a booksale promotion). Furthermore, it is gratifying that he shows Beatrix's contribution to conservation. He beautifully captures the dazzling English countryside, particularly the Lake District. So spectacular is Lake District that I immediately wanted to be there.

I could not picture anyone else other than Renee Zellweger who could have fitted the title role so well. Her touching portrayal of a extraordinary woman ahead of her time who manages to stay strong and dignified through her ups and downs is admirable to say the least. She's already mastered the British accent as has been evident in 'Bridget Jones's Diary' but here she also manages to adjust her English accordingly with the time period, sounding very natural.

Ewan McGregor and Emily Watson shine in their roles. McGregor as the slightly naive publisher, who believes in Potter and eventually falls in love, is a fine match for Zellweger's Potter while Emily Watson, who hardly ever disappoints, is outstanding. The rest of the cast that include Bill Paterson, Barbara Flynn, Matyelok Gibbs and Lloyd Owens are great.

A very minor quibble is that some important aspects of Beatrix's life were left out of the film, such as, the ignorance by the of her work by the officials (due to her gender) in the field of botany. Yet, even though it's not an accurate depiction, like Marc Forster's magical 'Finding Neverland' it remains charming, lovely and entertaining. It works as a slice of life and a character study.

If like me you are an old curmudgeon, who often makes Scrooge seem like Mother Theresa, then I strongly suggest you go watch this beautiful enchanting film on the life of Beatrix Potter.

It is extremely rare in these days of overblown special effects and "Written by Number Scripts" to come across a film that has intelligence, innocence, excellent acting, and beautiful music and cinematography.

I have seen other reviews that said Renee Zellwegger was wrong for the role of Potter, but I felt she had clearly understood the nature of the world in which Potter lived and the inner nature of a woman who had enormous talent, yet was determined to fight against the confinement's and mores of Victorian Society. There really was not one performance by any of the actors in the film that was out of place.

In these days when we educate our children with cynical reality shows, in which instant and short lived fame is more important that working hard to achieve your dreams, "Miss Potter" took me back to my childhood of innocence and imagination where simple but beautiful stories created so much warmth and good feeling.

This is a film for all age's, and all people. Absolutely beautiful from start to finish

Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) was a literary phenomenon of the early 20th Century.

At a time when most young women of her class aimed only to make a good marriage, Beatrix became an iconic figure, swimming quietly, but with great fortitude against the tide.

She created a series of books and characters that are as beloved today as they were a hundred years ago; since their publication they have never been out of print. She was also a distinguished painter and--had she been a man--her botanical drawings would have been snapped up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Kew Gardens.

In addition, by the time she died in 1943, Beatrix Potter had purchased vast swathes of the Lake District that she left to the then fledgling British Conservation Trust. That so much of this glorious countryside that inspired her, remains as it was in Beatrix Potter's day for others to enjoy, is her bequest to the nation.

This is her story.... Miss Potter 7/10