The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
The Jane Austen Book Club has a very cute title and a premise that follows through beautifully. Three women form a Jane Austen book club to help get through a terrible time. Maria Bello’s elderly dog just passed away, and Amy Brenneman’s husband, Jimmy Smits, has just left her for another woman. The third woman, Kathy Baker, is selfless and just loves her friends. Kathy invites a new acquaintance, Emily Blunt, to join them, since Emily has a passion for Austen’s novels and is also going through marital difficulty. (As a side note, I absolutely love Emily’s fashion in this movie, and always refer to the style as “Prudie outfits”.) Amy brings her daughter, Maggie Grace, and Maria takes a chance by asking a random young man she meets at a convention, Hugh Dancy. He’s never read Austen, but she’s hoping her best friend Amy can get some revenge on her ex by having a fling with a boy toy.
I love Robin Swicord’s direction in this movie. It’s very subtle, without drawing attention to the camera and letting the actors shine. Every actor delivers their lines in a natural style, but there’s a fine line between natural and irritating. They don’t talk over each other or fill sentences with endless pauses just to appear realistic. Instead, you’re drawn into real people’s lives, where emotions surface at the drop of a hat and even the slightest eyebrow raise means something. While everyone deserves singling out, I always really appreciate Amy Brenneman’s performance. She has so many subtleties when she’s not even the focus of the scene, showing she fleshed out her character in a way the original author didn’t even intend. There’s a brief moment where her lesbian daughter reveals she saw a man admiring her body. Amy’s reaction is only a couple of seconds, but it’s multi-faceted. In another quick moment, the topic of discussion is Emily’s difficult relationship with her mother, Lynn Redgrave. Amy reaches over to pat her daughter’s knee, just to check in and send a little love.
Nothing is accidental in the script, also written by Swicord. The opening credits show numerous incidents of how technology has made our lives more difficult. Each book club member has a unique character with struggles we understand, and there aren’t any wasted words as they work their way through the film. I’ve read Karen Joy Fowler’s novel and was incredibly disappointed. Had I read it first, I would have had no interest in seeing the film adaptation. It’s disjointed without three-dimensional characters and only a minor focus on Jane Austen. The scenes of the movie flow together, and even the actors with smaller roles, like Marc Blucas and Kathy Baker, have a great command over their characters. Each book ties in the characters’ lives, and in certain plot points – unlike in the novel. It doesn’t feel like a cheap way to grab publicity by using Austen’s name in the title; it really involves her and her stories into the modern plot. Swicord proves that the classic novels are truly timeless, and no matter how immersed we get into our modern problems, taking a step back and reading centuries’ old literature can help.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The very first five seconds after the opening text is an aerial shot spinning around, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
More Emily Blunt movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Karen Joy Fowler's original novel here!
I love Robin Swicord’s direction in this movie. It’s very subtle, without drawing attention to the camera and letting the actors shine. Every actor delivers their lines in a natural style, but there’s a fine line between natural and irritating. They don’t talk over each other or fill sentences with endless pauses just to appear realistic. Instead, you’re drawn into real people’s lives, where emotions surface at the drop of a hat and even the slightest eyebrow raise means something. While everyone deserves singling out, I always really appreciate Amy Brenneman’s performance. She has so many subtleties when she’s not even the focus of the scene, showing she fleshed out her character in a way the original author didn’t even intend. There’s a brief moment where her lesbian daughter reveals she saw a man admiring her body. Amy’s reaction is only a couple of seconds, but it’s multi-faceted. In another quick moment, the topic of discussion is Emily’s difficult relationship with her mother, Lynn Redgrave. Amy reaches over to pat her daughter’s knee, just to check in and send a little love.
Nothing is accidental in the script, also written by Swicord. The opening credits show numerous incidents of how technology has made our lives more difficult. Each book club member has a unique character with struggles we understand, and there aren’t any wasted words as they work their way through the film. I’ve read Karen Joy Fowler’s novel and was incredibly disappointed. Had I read it first, I would have had no interest in seeing the film adaptation. It’s disjointed without three-dimensional characters and only a minor focus on Jane Austen. The scenes of the movie flow together, and even the actors with smaller roles, like Marc Blucas and Kathy Baker, have a great command over their characters. Each book ties in the characters’ lives, and in certain plot points – unlike in the novel. It doesn’t feel like a cheap way to grab publicity by using Austen’s name in the title; it really involves her and her stories into the modern plot. Swicord proves that the classic novels are truly timeless, and no matter how immersed we get into our modern problems, taking a step back and reading centuries’ old literature can help.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. The very first five seconds after the opening text is an aerial shot spinning around, and that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"
More Emily Blunt movies here!
Be sure to check out Hot Toasty Rag's review of Karen Joy Fowler's original novel here!