Miss Austen Regrets

This is a good movie for those who love Jane Austen (and similar movies). In the beginning i had to get used to this Jane but when i did i could get lost in the movie. A brilliant movie with a lot of accuracy about Jane's life. Of course not all of it is accurate but they are forgiven since this is a movie and not a documentary. People can't help comparing this movie with "becoming Jane" but this movie basically picks up where "becoming Jane" left of. All in all a must watch for fans of Austen and other period drama movies.

I won't bother comparing Miss Austen Regrets to Becoming Jane. I will simply say: skip the latter and turn to the former if truly interested in the life of Jane Austen and not the fictional speculation. One is BBC and the other Hollywood. Enough said.

The only possible criticism of Miss Austen Regrets is how it starts off at such a startlingly quick pace, so much so that if the credits hadn't run I would have thought I'd come in on a good third of the production already gone. Allthe speculation of Jane Austen never having been in love, or having a chance at marriage (especially an advantageous one) is dashed in the first few minutes. From there the audience is left to wonder at the title--is it a what or who she regrets?

The biopic focuses on Jane Austen's latter years, and uses her relationship with her niece Fanny as a means of exploring her past relationships. We come to see financial security was of paramount concern to her, yet that concern was not so much for her sake as it was for her family's. We also see that her freedom to write being more important to her than love. Yet, it is all speculation. It isn't really clear that she had regrets at all. She exuded a satisfaction, so the title is a bit misleading.

What this new biopic brings out is the independence Jane enjoyed, and how much she enjoyed writing. The acting is commendable, the factual details admirable, and the rendering of the time satisfactory (although Jane's outfits swung from either being rather matronly to almost brazen). An enjoyable addition to Austen offerings. Yet, maybe it's time to leave off on the conjectures and meddling in her love life and focus on the brilliance of her writing--no speculation there.

This film is so much better than 'Becoming Jane' (which deals with Jane Austen's earlier life), that it is really in another category altogether. Olivia Williams as Jane Austen in this film is scintillatingly brilliant, she truly becomes the character, and although she had already shown in 'The Heart of Me' (see my review) what a sensational actress she is, here she transcends herself. Rarely can an actress have so thoroughly 'become' a historical character as in this film. Olivia Williams has now proved that she is one of the finest actresses in Britain today. She is not vain, and is not afraid to look rough when necessary for the story, whereas Hollywood actresses do not ever want to be seen from the wrong angle, so that they become artificial. Olivia Williams really does seem to suffer with her character every step of the way. She also effervesces and bubbles with uncontrollable mischief and naughtiness, rebelling against the intolerable restrictions of life for a woman in those days. The pathos of Austen's solitary state, when women who were unmarried could not carry on any other relationships either, is vividly portrayed. Greta Scacchi is marvellous as the silent sister Cassandra, though it is hard for me to come to terms with her no longer being the dazzling starlet she was when younger, as I still envisage her as that. Imogen Poots is a mixture of charm and jealousy, feather-brained idiocy, and beaming smiles, even a touch of innate wisdom, in other words, just as full of contradictions as a real person. She pulls it all off, and we believe every aspect of her changing nature as it varies from circumstance to circumstance, laughing with her one minute and at her the next. Her versatility and instinct will doubtless bring her a fine career. Phyllida Law is marvellous as Mrs. Austen, the mother worn out by it all. Adrian Edmondson does a wonderful job as brother Henry, charming but hopeless, devoted brother and failed banker. The director, Jeremy Lovering, has never directed anything other than television material, but here he shows himself as a superb feature film director, albeit this was a film made for television. Let's hope he can now break out of the box. He is announced as director for 'The Wedding Party', and maybe that is for a larger screen. He has proved that he knows how to tease the best results out of his actors and actresses. This film is a genuine triumph, and everyone connected with it should be thrilled at the result, which could hardly be bettered. It is an instant classic, and long may it live its life as a DVD, avidly watched by anyone with an ounce of taste. And above all, what will the amazing Olivia Williams do next? Will she get all the plum roles she deserves? If there be any justice in the world at all, we will see no end of her from now every which way we turn.

The Austen Industry ensures that almost every year there is a new production of either one of her books, or of films about how us moderns are affected by her work (The Jane Austen Book Club, Lost in Austen)almost two centuries after she lived. This film turns the spotlight away from her characters to the author herself, and does it wonderfully well: we see her as sister, daughter,and aunt, a creature of flesh and blood who is not beyond the occasional infatuation in middle age. Well cast, well acted and all that one expects from a satisfying period drama. For an hour and a half I was transported from monsoonal India to nineteenth century England -- what more can one ask for!

film about a legend, it is a serious work. her life is more than a picture. her work is more than portrait of a world. because the heart of pages, existence is the sacrifice. it is answer to many ordinaries questions. and beginning to a trip in essence of a society not more different by ours. basic virtue - excellent performance. the second - air of a time - mixture between honey and ash. so, if it is not accurate image about Jane Austen, it is realistic. seductive. and a real show of nuances. the regrets - only flowers of a way to understand life. a kind of lesson , idealistic, of course, but very important as subject of reflection. it is a necessary film in the middle of Jane Austen adaptations. because makes her human been more than a character writing about others characters.