The Real Jane Austen (2002)
Drama-documentary exploring the life of Jane Austen. Actor Anna Chancellor, a distant relative of Jane Austen, discovers the woman behind the acclaimed novels through readings and reconstructions. Location shots of her homes in Steventon and Chawton and extracts from adaptations of her work are also featured.
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Reviews
I agree whole-heartedly with Chris Holdridge's comments abut this program. Being something of an Austen fanatic and having read the Letters and other reliable sources, it was delightful to see Ms. Austen so beautifully brought to life. I am writing this the morning after seeing 2007's "Becoming Jane". Although I knew that the plot of the latter film was going to be fairly unbelievable, I was disappointed that Anne Hathaway's dull portrayal of Austen fell so far short of the mark. For obvious reasons, I can't say I know the real Jane Austen, but from what I've read, Gillian Kearney's performance in The Real Jane Austen is both believable and satisfying: intelligent, bright, perky, and funny.
The life of Jane Austen is hardly the stuff of high drama - eschewing romantic liaisons and social life and preferring to stay home like some old-before-her-time puritan matriarch. However, this wonderful drama doc, which benefits from perfect casting and a subtle, gentle approach to editing and camera work, makes perfect use of what dramatic events did occur in the life of our favourite literary spinster.