The 2007 movie Becoming Jane, directed by Julian Jarrold, is a historical film inspired by the early life of famous novelist Jane Austen (played by Anne Hathaway) and her relationship with Tom Lefroy (portrayed by James McAvoy). Jane Austen is the youngest daughter of Reverend Austen (James Cromwell) and his wife (Julie Walters). She has yet to find a suitable husband. Jane desires to become a write, to her mother’s dismay, and the delight of her father. Thomas Lefroy is a promising lawyer but has a bad reputation that he describes as “typical” for companions of that era. His wealthy uncle is unhappy with his behavior and sends him to the countryside to learn his lesson. After a bad first impression upon meeting Mr. Lefroy, Jane cannot stand the arrogant Irishman.
Throughout the movie, Jane turns down the affections of numerous men including Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox), the nephew of Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith). She denies his proposal. Tom and Jane’s hate soon begins to turn into a growing affection. The mischievous Tom continues his advances and Jane begins to take the idea of marriage seriously. They get to know each other gradually, and eventually fall in love.
Tom, Jane, her brother and cousin receive an invitation from Tom’s uncle and benefactor (the Lord Chief Judge Langlois of London). The judge was about to give his blessing for Tom and Jane’s marriage when he received an anonymous letter informing him that Jane’s family was poor and refuses to give the blessing. Jane is upset when Tom tells her that he can’t marry her, not knowing that Tom had a good reason; he is his family’s only hope for survival. Jane goes back home and accepts Mr. Wisley’s proposal that she earlier turned down.
Tom soon realizes that he cannot live without Jane and comes back suggesting that they should runaway. Jane agrees and leaves with only her sister Cassandra knowing. On the way, Jane stumbles upon a letter from Tom’s mother, and realizes his situation. She tells Tome that they can’t do this with so many people depending on him. Tom insists otherwise but Jane says that he won’t be able to support his family if he runs away. Jane says that she loves him, but that if their love destroys his family, it would destroy itself with guilt, regret, and blame.
Tom was an inspiration for some of Austen’s writing (Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice). Jane destroyed most of the evidence of their relationship. Twenty years later Jane encounters Thomas Lefroy at a social function. He is with his eldest daughter also named Jane, who turns out to be a big fan of Jane’s writing.
At 22 minutes and 45 seconds into the movie, Jane and Tom both meet unexpectedly in the woods. Tom was sent by his uncle (that lives in the country) into the woods to learn a few things about the beauty of the country. Tom was struggling to make his way through while Jane was taking a pleasant walk and was unhappy when she saw the arrogant man who had insulted her writing. In this shot we see Hathaway’s character on the complete opposite side of the screen compared to McAvoy. We get something between a full or medium shot of Jane and a long distance shot of Tom. He is emerging from the thicket to the trail and trying to get to Jane, whereas she is walking away, not wanting to be in his presence. The depth of field shows that the two are deep inside of the forest because each side of the shot is surrounded by green shrubbery and trees. Though you see the two on opposite ends on the screen, you are forced to look at the space between them. In this shot you see the open gap occupied by only the green and brown path. This empty space will fill up in the next few shots as Tom gets closer to Jane. It shows the aversion between the two, but also the developing chemistry (each step they take to get closer is filling up that empty gap). In my opinion this is an eye level shot. When you watch this scene, at the time Jane is closer to you but soon Tom is right next to her and it becomes a full and then medium shot. It’s as if you are standing on the path, watching this happen.
This shot is in the perfect spot in the forest. There is a peaceful path that Jane is walking on in her casual but nice blue dress with a white collar. The dress is very plain but you can tell it’s something that might have been worn in the 1800s for an average person. Even her hair is up the way a woman might have worn it then. Tom is dressed in a very elegant black suit with a nice waste coat, white shirt, top hat, and cane. It’s ironic. We can tell that he is from the city and doesn’t fit into the country style.
How do you think the character’s positioning (where they are and how they’re standing) affects the mood and point of this shot? If you didn’t know what this movie is about, what would you conclude by just seeing this shot?
