Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie Review

This well-made period piece shines on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 16, 2008

A novel must show how the world truly is.

What happens when a period piece evokes the name of Jane Austen, the author who is adored by women the world over, likely the equivalent of any number of famous authors who cater to a male audience, such as W.P. Kinsella, Ernest Hemingway, or even Tom Clancy? The answer is a good date movie but also one that barely recouped its $16.5 million budget at the domestic box office. That statistic came as a shocker to me, considering the absolutely astonishing level of popularity Ms. Austen and her works enjoy these days. Not only do her books continue to sell, but film after film, from big budget studio releases to stuffy BBC and PBS Masterpiece Theater versions that are the cinematic equivalents of a root canal for the "less sophisticated" such as myself, who would much rather watch a marathon of The Marine on cable television, continue to see release after release to the joy of the fairer and sappier of the sexes. Still, it's rather nice to see something different these days. I can only take so many versions of Sense and Sensibility, so it is with much delight that I found that studios have shifted from recounting the Austen tales to putting the focus on the novelist herself. Unlike the recent Jane Austen Book Club, a film focusing on the effect of the author's work on modern readers, Becoming Jane is a film about the novelist herself and the life experiences that led her to pen some of the most beloved tales of romance the world over.

Jane Austen revels in yet another Blu-ray victory.

Budding novelist Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada) comes from a highly eccentric, mostly typical of its time family. Her parents, especially her mother, are seemingly in a hurry for her to marry for all the wrong reasons. She must find a man who can promise her wealth and comfort first, and, well, nothing second. Love doesn't factor into the equation at all, and Jane finds herself pursued by a man she hardly knows, and cares for even less, the venerable Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox, Elizabeth: The Golden Age). Enter Mr. Thomas Lefroy (James McAvoy, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), a young, handsome sophisticate from the city with a fashionable green velvet coat. Although he and Jane do not see eye-to-eye at first due to his poor reaction to an ode she penned for her sister and future brother-in-law, the two come to respect and care for one another through their mutual love of the written word. By the summer's end, Jane is torn between the mate her mother has selected, a man she admires for his proposal but cares nothing for emotionally, and a man with whom she's fallen genuinely in love with but simply cannot marry for the doubt, anger, and financial instability such a marriage would result in as seen by both sets of families.

Becoming Jane is a classic coming-of-age tale as Jane literally becomes a woman through the length of the picture. She matures from a young girl set-in-the-ways of her parents, to a woman madly in love with a man forbidden by tradition, to a lady who sees past her romantic notions for the heartaches such a love would cause, and finally to a mature, bestselling author torn between all of her previous incantations we are privy to during the film. Jane is a rebel in so may ways, from breaking the tradition of reading novels only meant for the opposite sex, to daring to write in an age where women were meant only to look pretty and raise children, and finally to daring to marry for love rather than convenience. In essence, the unknown Jane truly does "become Jane (Austen)," the author whose famous works draw inspiration from the backward, less than ideal outlook on love that confined the women of her time.

I'll be the first to admit that this just isn't my kind of movie, but I respect it nevertheless, all jokes from the first paragraph aside. Becoming Jane remains a rather tedious story for those just not in-tune with this type of film or the era in which it is set, but there is no denying the gorgeousness of the experience. The film is absolutely beautifully crafted with impeccable costuming and acting. Anne Hathaway is an actress who recalls the likes of legendary Hollywood beauties such as Gretta Garbo, Grace Kelly, and Ingrid Bergman, whose performances matched their reputations as lookers. Hathaway is marvelous in this role, a wholly believable late 18th century maiden, and her performance is matched by her fellow actors, all of whom are magnificent in this film. Perhaps my favorite feature of this movie is the fine score by Adrian Johnston. It certainly "sounds" like turn of the century 1795 England, but it's also pleasing, relaxing, and completely enjoyable, so much so that picking up the film's soundtrack just might make a good gift for my wife, so long as I can listen when she does.

Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Disney presents Becoming Jane in a gorgeous 1080p high definition experience that certainly compliments the visual style of this film perfectly. On the whole, I must say that this is one of the finest looking discs available, for most of the film anyway. The image offers up excellent attention to detail that is evident from the first frames of the picture. Detail on Jane's writing paper, for example, is stunning. It's textures are clearly visible and certainly authentic in appearance. Other various close-ups of everyday objects as the film opens also offer up exemplary detail. This image is bright, perhaps a bit overly so, and flesh tones are some of the most accurate in appearance I've seen to date with not a hint of unnatural red or orange tints about them. Although colors are not overly bright, they still abound throughout, looking pleasant and refined, and scenes lit by natural sunlight are mesmerizing in clarity and lifelike appearance. My one and only complaint stems from the inconsistent black levels. While never perfect, they sometimes come close to passable, but more often than not appear overly bright (like the rest of the movie in all fairness), but the absolute inkiness offered by the finest of transfers is never present. Some scenes suffer from overly brightened blacks much more so than do others, and there is some wavering in the contrast during the worst offending scenes as the image brightens and darkens from frame to frame as if it had a mind of its own to do so. Nevertheless, looking past this one fault, this image is generally a jaw-dropper. I only wish the black levels were more consistent, and that fault is the only one keeping Becoming Jane from achieving 5-star status.

Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Capturing the aural experience of the film is a fine PCM 5.1 uncompressed audio track. While the film never ventures into territory that calls for the type of experience that is often present on the highest rated and most cherished of audio presentations, Becoming Jane nevertheless makes its mark as a highly realistic, pleasant, and enjoyable listen. I was most pleased with the level of ambience throughout the picture. From wind blowing and leaves ruffling to a bell ringing or a cow mooing in the distance in quieter scenes, there is always something to keep the viewer firmly entrenched in the middle of the story. Sounds generally paid little attention to in total detail in most films are clear and natural, such as that of a gavel slamming down. Music reproduction is pleasant and powerful and Adrian Johnston's musical score, as already noted, is quite enjoyable as well. Dialogue is center-focused and pleasant with absolutely no reproduction glitches. For the material, this is one heck of a soundtrack and it suits the mood of the film perfectly.

Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Though not a thorough "special edition," Becoming Jane offers viewers a nice array of supplemental material. The extras begin with an audio commentary track with director Julian Jarrold, writer Kevin Hood, and producer Robert Bernstein. This track is as stuffy as the film itself, with dry comments about the set pieces and cast. Next are thirteen deleted scenes (480p, 19:33) that offer up a few moments that would have been nice to see in the final cut of the film, but at two hours already and a 3 hour cut discussed by the filmmakers in the commentary, what we have on the disc is likely the best version of Becoming Jane fans could hope for. Nevertheless, seeing these scenes in their raw state should satisfy fans of the film. Discovering the Real Jane Austen (480p, 16:57) features quite a bit behind-the-scenes information but also focuses on the origins of the film, based on Austen's real-life love story as a teenager as depicted in a recent biography. Mostly, this is yet another piece featuring interview snippets with the cast and crew scattered amongst clips from the film. Finally, 'Becoming Jane' Pop-Up Facts and Footnotes is a text-based trivia track that runs the length of the film, offering up interesting tidbits about the movie and the history of the real-life characters and the setting of the film. Each one is clear and easy to read, and they appear quite frequently to boot.

Becoming Jane Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Becoming Jane will probably not be more than a fleeting blip on most Blu-ray owner's radar screens, but this is one film that is sure to score points with the females in the audience and is a fine choice for those interested in Jane Austen, sans the stuffiness and arrogance of other, more tedious versions of her life story and novels. The movie is also pleasing to look at, a glimpse into what turn-of-the-century England may have looked like at the time Austen penned her novels. Were I to watch this film again, I'd most likely pay more attention to the background details of the locales rather than to the story itself, but that's the curious historian in me rather than the movie fanatic. Regardless of why you watch the film, this Blu-ray edition is the best way to view it. Sporting a nearly perfect video quality alongside a very pleasing audio experience, this one is a feast for the senses. A decent supplemental package make this disc one worth checking out. Becoming Jane is not something I can recommend every reader purchase, but if you or someone you know enjoys period films, you can't do any better than Becoming Jane on Blu-ray.