The Jane Austen Book Club

Bravo!

What I liked the most about The Jane Austen Book Club was that even though each character represented one Jane Austen's book characters (Bernadette represents Mrs. Gardiner from Pride And Prejudice, Sylvia represents Fanny Price from Mansfield Park, Jocelyn is Emma from the so called novel, Prudie is Anne Elliot from Persuassion, Allegra is like Marianne from Sense And Sensibility and Grigg represents all Jane Austen's misunderstood male characters), and the resemblance is quite obvious given that each one leads the meeting of the book from which they represent a character, they could actually relate to all Austen's stories and characters, they did not follow the archetype completely and lineally. And what I found exceptional was that they expierenced similar things of the books they were reading at the very moment, like they learned from Austen's stories and they felt related and deeply touched, scarely mirrord in 18th century situations, three hundred years later.

It might seem like a chick fick, but it actually has got a complex plot and complex characters. If you haven't read any of Jane Austen's novels, then you'll find it cliched and boring, because you won't be able to see the "hiden" content, the little pearl that makes this movie special: the intertextualities.

But it's not a modernized collection of Jane Austen's stories, the resemblance between the characters is more like symbolism because they don't completely live their character's story, each member of the club expierences similar situations from all the books, not only the one they represent, and they all have personality features from many other Austen's characters.

I really loved the cast as an ensemble, they had great chemistry. But it was Emily Blunt's performance which stunned me the most. She really convinced me of her emotional contrasts and of her believe of being beyond the ordinary. Hugh Dancy is gorgeous and very promising, and he does great in this film. Maria Bello, Maggie Grace and Kathy Baker were in my favourites too.

Wonderful, underated movie.

FYI: The director/writer, Robin Swicord, is the writer of the upcoming film: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, which looks very promising and I'm dying to see. She also wrote the screenplays for Matilda, Memoirs Of A Geisha, The Perez Family and Little Women.