From the title, you’d think The Jane Austen Book Club was the chick flick to end all chick flicks. You’ve got Jane Austen: literary purveyor of all things romantic; and you’ve got Book Club, not to say guys don’t get into sitting around over coffee and discussing novels - just none I know.
But the film, like the presence of a lad in its club, isn’t entirely predictable, occasionally eschewing the froth to provide meaningful insight into difficult relationships.
The overall plot is simple – six people in Sacramento, Calif. getting together once a month to discuss one of Ms. Austen’s novels (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey).
There’s Jocelyn (Maria Bello), who like Austen’s Emma prefers to play Cupid than get romantically attached herself, Prudie (Emily Blunt), the know-it-all high school French teacher who’s unhappily married, Bernadette (Kathy Baker), who weds often and for kicks, Sylvia (Amy Brenneman), whose husband has left her for a colleague, and her daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace), who doesn’t worry a whit about men because she digs women. Oh, and of course the guy: Grigg (Hugh Dancy) has never read Austen, and is only there because he hopes to get with Jocelyn.
I realized while watching director Robin Swicord’s film, based on the Karen Joy Fowler novel, that though I’ve seen countless cinematic adaptations of Austen works, some direct (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice), some indirect (Clueless), I’ve never actually read one of her books – remedied immediately after the film by picking up Persuasion and Mansfield Park. For that reason, I’m sure I missed some of the references and similarities between characters in the film and Austen’s heroes and heroines. But it doesn’t matter – their romantic highs and lows are universal.
Emily Blunt and Marc Blucas in a scene from The Jane Austen Book Club
Best storyline of the lot, for my money, was Prudie’s, and not just because Blunt’s performance was superb. Her character is the kind of person you’d meet for five minutes and dismiss as a disagreeable snob. But spend more time with her and it becomes evident that her cutting remarks and prickly demeanor mask the pain of an unhappy partnership and feelings of self-doubt. The audience sees what she’s dealing with and may begin to understand why she’d seek fulfillment with someone else. A scene in which Prudie is forced to make a big decision – wondering what Jane would do in her shoes – is one of the film’s best.
The Jocelyn-Grigg courtship was also well done, although how Jocelyn missed all the clues that Grigg was interested in her is beyond me. Instead she tries desperately to pair him up with the aching Sylvia, despite her growing attraction to him.
It was nice to see that Grigg and the other male characters in the film weren’t painted as jerks – even the straying husband (Jimmy Smits) is not a black-and-white bad guy, but a conflicted individual who feels guilt and regret over his actions.
My problem with multi-plotline movies like The Jane Austen Book Club is that they generally skim the surface of the characters and therefore it’s hard to feel for any of them – fortunately between the Prudie and Jocelyn storylines there was enough emotional depth here to sink your teeth into. Ms. Austen would approve.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
The Jane Austen Book Club (*** out of 5)
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Maria Bello, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy
Directed by: Robin Swicord
Written by: Robin Swicord, based on Karen Joy Fowler's book
Related links: Official site, IMDB page, Apple trailer
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