'Moliere'
In the French language film "Moliere," named for the great playwright who gave us satiric gems such as "Tartuffe," is a struggling actor who takes a position with a wealthy family to escape prison.
The story uses a period of time when Moliere's whereabouts and actions were unknown, much as "Shakespeare in Love" did.
Romain Duris plays Moliere, the stage name of nobleman Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, who had forsaken his life of privilege for the stage and a woman. At the point where the story begins, the 22-year-old Moliere is working as a bad actor, his theatre troupe is broke and he gets thrown in debtors' prison.
A wealth middle-aged merchant named Monsieur Jourdain (Fabrice Luchini), who is surprisingly impressed with Moliere's acting ability, offers to pay his debts and spring him from prison, if he agrees to teach him the craft of acting.
The social-climbing Jourdain hopes to uses his new skills to woo Celimene (Ludivine Sagnier), a sharp-tongued young beauty who is the reigning light of the local social scene. Of course, the merchant's wife Elmire (Laura Morante) cannot know of the scheme, so Moliere has to disguise himself as a priest who has come to instruct the merchant's teenaged daughter in religion. Moliere is quickly smitten with the clever, mistreated Elmire.
Thus director Laurent Tirard sets up a good romantic comedy farce. The set up has more potential for farce comedy than the plot wrings from it. Indeed, the "Moliere" can't quite make up its mind if it wants to be romantic comedy or a drama. Starting with comedy and then veering towards heartbreak and dramatic tension doe not quite work. The romance between Moliere and merchant's wife is good but a bit underdeveloped, and is complicated by Moliere's presumed theater troupe love interest back in Paris.
The film also uses an unnecessary framing devise of a somewhat older Moliere on the verge of success, whose desire to produce dramas is thwarted by the popularity of his comedies, which just muddies the film's plot.
Still, "Moliere" is not without its charms. It has funny and romantic highlights, the scenery is nice and costumes lush, and the parallels it draws between incidents and Moliere's great works are fun. Fans of Moliere and of French farce and costume films generally will get their money's worth. "Moliere" is in French with English subtitles, and is now playing at Plaza Frontenac Cinema.
Becoming Jane
In the British romantic comedy "Becoming Jane," director Julian Jarrold, who also directed the entertaining, off-beat "Kinky Boots," takes a different tack to give Jane Austen the same "Shakespeare In Love" treatment. Again this is a fictional tale that gives an origin for the greatest works of Austen. However, unlike Moliere and Shakespeare, Jane Austen had no convenient period of time that was unaccounted for, in which to insert a fictional what-if tale. Instead, the filmmakers took the sparse facts of an early love interest as a starting point. This approach produces a far more romantic and entertaining film but one more factually fractured and certainly farther from true. No Jane Austen fan should rely on "Becoming Jane" as a biography of the author.
However, "Becoming Jane" is certainly fun, due at least in part to casting that produces echoes of last year's "Pride and Prejudice" starring Keira Knightly in an adaptation one of Austen's most famous books. Many of the sets and the visual style remind one of that "Pride and Prejudice" but mostly it is the casting of actors who resemble presumed equivalents in "Pride and Prejudice" that repeatedly underscores the literary connections that "Becoming Jane" makes. If you have not seen the 2006 film, you should rent and watch it first, to increase your enjoyment of this one.
Anne Hathaway may be beautiful but she is way out of her depth in her lead role as Jane Austen. Fortunately, the rest of the cast is excellent, and their work buoys her thin performance. This is especially true of James McAvoy, who was so brilliant in last year's "Last King of Scotland." McAvoy plays Jane's love interest, Irish lawyer Thomas Lefroy, very loosely based on a real Austen flirtation, in this tale of star-crossed romance.
The film takes place when Jane was twenty years old, before she had set out on her literary career. McAvoy's character will remind viewers at times of the difficult Mr. Darcy, and at others of other Austen characters. Like an Austen novel, money or the lack of it, and social position play a role in the fates of lovers.
Others cast members include the great British actors Maggie Smith as the aristocratic Lady Gresham, and James Cromwell as Jane's father. Lady Gresham's nephew Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox) represents the wealthy prospect her parents might wish for daughter Jane, as well as a familiar Austen character. Only one of Austen's brothers appears, Henry (Joe Anderson), blond-haired, outgoing and in dashing red military uniform, whose appearance n this story again Austen characters as well as the 2006 movie. Austen's emotional mother is played well be Julie Walters and Anna Maxwell Martin is affecting as Cassandra, the sister to whom she was so close. Both characters also repeat bits from Austen's works.
Serious Austen fans might roll their eyes at "Becoming Jane" but for the more casual fan, the film can be fun.
All the literary references are delightful and the romantic tension between Hathaway's Jane and McAvoy's are suitably affecting, making the film into some winning chick lit entertainment.
Although the plot plays loose with the facts, it fortunately does redeem itself by coming back to reality by the end. Not for the purists but fans of good romantic comedy entertainment will be pleased with "Becoming Jane."
"Becoming Jane" is now playing at Plaza Frontenac Cinema and other theaters.
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