Back to trending
Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane

Romance · Drama · 2007

Though young Jane Austen's financially strapped parents expect her to marry the nephew of wealthy Lady Gresham, Jane herself knows that such a union will destroy her creativity and sense of self-worth. Instead, she becomes involved with Tom Lefroy, a charming but penniless apprentice lawyer who gives her the knowledge of the heart she needs for her future career as a novelist.

Movie details

Becoming Jane

“Her own life is her greatest inspiration.”

2007 Romance · Drama 2h 0m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

Though young Jane Austen's financially strapped parents expect her to marry the nephew of wealthy Lady Gresham, Jane herself knows that such a union will destroy her creativity and sense of self-worth. Instead, she becomes involved with Tom Lefroy, a charming but penniless apprentice lawyer who gives her the knowledge of the heart she needs for her future career as a novelist.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Becoming Jane?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Secret Scripture

The Secret Scripture

Drama · 2017

The hidden memoir of an elderly woman confined to a mental hospital reveals the history of her passionate yet tortured life, and of the religious and political upheavals in Ireland during the 1920s and 30s.

Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

Drama · 2026

A charming, witty, and deeply relatable story of love and sisterhood.

Persuasion

Persuasion

Drama · 2007

Anne Elliot was once in love with Frederick Wentworth, a commander in the Royal Navy who was rejected by her snobby parents eight years ago. When the family hits hard times and are forced to rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law, Frederick returns as a captain - but will he remember Anne?

The Choice

The Choice

Drama · 2016

Travis and Gabby first meet as neighbors in a small coastal town and wind up in a relationship that is tested by life's most defining events.

Far from Heaven

Far from Heaven

Drama · 2002

In 1950s Connecticut, a housewife's life is upended by a marital crisis and mounting racial tensions in society.

Love Everlasting

Love Everlasting

Romance · 2016

Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.

I Can't Think Straight

I Can't Think Straight

Drama · 2008

Tala, a London-based Palestinian, is preparing for her elaborate Middle Eastern wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who is dating her best friend. Spirited Christian Tala and shy Muslim Leyla could not be more different from each other, but the attraction is immediate and goes deeper than friendship. But Tala is not ready to accept the implications of the choice her heart has made for her and escapes back to Jordan, while Leyla tries to move on with her new-found life, to the shock of her tradition-loving parents. As Tala's wedding day approaches, simmering tensions come to boiling point and the pressure mounts for Tala to be true to herself.

Howards End

Howards End

Drama · 1992

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread

Drama · 2017

In 1950s London, a renowned dressmaker's meticulous lifestyle begins drastically changing as his relationship with his young muse intensifies.

The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison County

Drama · 1995

Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the 1960s.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Julian Jarrold

Written by

Kevin Hood · Sarah Williams

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway

Jane Austen

James McAvoy

James McAvoy

Tom Lefroy

Julie Walters

Julie Walters

Mrs. Austen

James Cromwell

James Cromwell

Mr. Austen

Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith

Lady Gresham

Joe Anderson

Joe Anderson

Henry Austen

Lucy Cohu

Lucy Cohu

Eliza de Feuillide

Court is in session

Put Becoming Jane on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Adrenaline Seeker

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.