Miss Potter

One would like to think that the most prolific children's author of all time was a fun-loving, happy, cheerful person, and yet this movie certainly shatters that image. Beatrix Potter (creator of Peter Rabbit among others) is depicted here as a shy, lonely, isolated and socially awkward woman who sometimes seems to live in an imagined world of her own and whose only friends are the animals she creates for her stories (her friendship with the animals being depicted by them becoming - to Beatrix only - animated creatures rather than still drawings.) All her relationships - save two - are problematic. Her original publishers don't take her work seriously, her father is loving but patronizing, her mother never appreciates her talent (at one point her father says to her mother "our daughter is famous, my dear, and you seem to be the only one who doesn't realize that!") The two exceptions are important though. Norman - who eventually is given responsibility for publishing her books (Potter is "fobbed off" onto him by his older brothers who actually run the firm) - believes in her and eventually falls madly in love with her and his sister Millie becomes her best friend. Still, though, the relationships turn tragic when Beatrix and Norman are engaged but can't tell anyone because her parents insist on keeping it a secret (they felt Beatrix was marrying beneath herself) and Norman then dies before the marriage takes place.

Renee Zellweger (my favourite actress who can take any role of any kind it seems and make it work brilliantly) was - well - brilliant as Beatrix Potter. The rest of the cast were quite solid - especially Barbara Flynn as Beatrix' mother, and Ewan McGregor as Norman. The strict moral standards of the early 20th century were portrayed well (it's shocking today to realize that a 32 year old unmarried woman would still have had to be chaperoned everywhere she went in that era) and the movie even manages some light humour now and then. Ultimately - one might say finally, because there's a point in the movie at which you desperately want Beatrix to break out of the stifling environment of her parents' home - the movie becomes uplifting, as Beatrix uses her newfound wealth to buy a farm where she can be on her own, becomes a bit of a social champion by buying surrounding properties to protect them from development and - finally - manages to fall in love and get married, although that's only told in the postscript.

This is, indeed, a movie both sad and touching. 7/10

This film is about the life of Beatrix Potter, who was a famous author of children's books.

The portrayal of Beatrix's love for drawing and for animals was remarkable and heartwarming. The pure and untainted love was refreshing. Her struggle for recognition and independence was inspirational. Renee Zellweger did a good British accent in the film, and she successfully made Miss Potter alive and vivid. Her depressive phase after the tragic loss was well depicted by both her acting and the imagery on the cartoons. The lavish sets and the breathtaking scenery add to the entertainment value of the film.

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.

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

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