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Friday, August 3, 2007 12:00 AM

"Becoming Jane"

This misguided movie imagines Jane Austen's life as a genteel, tasteful Harlequin romance.

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  • Friday, August 3, 2007 05:24 AM

    Sorry clowngrass...

    ...but if there is one thing that the history of popular cinema has taught us, it is that audiences do love gazing at beautiful people on the big screen. Living a vicarious fantasy life where you can pretend to be (or be with!) Cary Grant, Marilyn Monroe, Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie is a key component of cinema's allure and no toffee-nosed sniffles about the 'art' of the medium will change that.

    I saw this film when it was released in England a couple of months ago and it does a pretty big disservice to Austen, especially after the triumph of Keira Knightley's Pride and Prejudice (which impressed me mightily despite previous misgivings about Knightley's ability to make a believable Elizabeth).

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