The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2007 American romantic drama film written and directed by Robin Swicord. The screenplay, adapted from the 2004 novel of the same name by Karen Joy Fowler, focuses on a book club formed specifically to discuss the six novels written by Jane Austen. As they delve into Austen's literature, the book club members find themselves dealing with life experiences that parallel the themes of the books they are reading.
The book club is the brainchild of fiftysomething six-time divorcée Bernadette (Kathy Baker), who develops the idea when she meets Prudie (Emily Blunt), a prim, married high school French teacher in her mid-20s, at a Jane Austen film festival. Bernadette plans to have six members discuss all of Austen's six novels (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey), with each member hosting the group once a month. Also inducted into the club are Sylvia (Amy Brenneman), a librarian recently separated from her philandering lawyer husband Daniel (Jimmy Smits) after over two decades of marriage; Sylvia's 20-something lesbian daughter Allegra (Maggie Grace); Jocelyn (Maria Bello), a happily unmarried control freak and breeder of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, and Sylvia's friend since childhood; and Grigg (Hugh Dancy), a science fiction fan invited into the group by Jocelyn with the hope to match him with Sylvia.
As the months pass, each of the members develops characteristics similar to those of Austen's characters, and reacts to events in their lives similarly to their fictional counterparts. Bernadette is the matriarchal figure who longs to see everyone find happiness. Sylvia clings to her belief in steadfast love and devotion (eventually reconciling with Daniel). Jocelyn denies her own feelings for Grigg while playing matchmaker for him and Sylvia. Prudie is encumbered with her inattentive husband Dean (Marc Blucas), and free-spirited, marijuana-smoking, aging hippie mother Mama Sky (Lynn Redgrave), who dies in a car accident. Prudie also finds herself desperately trying to resist her feelings for seductive student Trey (Kevin Zegers), meanwhile accusing Dean of coming on to her high-school acquaintance at Mama Sky's funeral. Allegra, who tends to meet her lovers while engaging in death-defying activities, feels betrayed because her partner, aspiring writer Corinne (Parisa Fitz-Henley), uses Allegra's life as the basis for her short stories. Grigg is attracted to Jocelyn and mystified by her seeming lack of interest in him, marked by her failure to read the Ursula Le Guin novels he hoped would interest her. He also serves as the comedic foil to Jocelyn's and Prudie's very serious takes on the books.
The last book club meeting is held on the beach. Daniel wants to join the book club after reading Persuasion with Allegra at the hospital after suffering a concussion from an indoor climbing accident. Sylvia lets Daniel into the book club. Grigg brings his elder sister Cat Harris (Nancy Travis), who persuades Jocelyn to take a chance on Grigg because he loves her. Allegra brings Dr. Yep (Gwendoline Yeo), who treated her concussion. Prudie, the scheduled host, does not attend. Instead, she goes to meet Trey, but reconsiders after considering what Jane Austen would do. Prudie goes home to Dean and reads Persuasion with him, helping them rediscover their love. Daniel leaves a letter for Sylvia at her doorstep. Upon reading it, she accepts Daniel back.
Jocelyn finally reads the books Grigg gave to her and is surprised to find that she loves them, cannot sleep, and finishes them in a single night. Jocelyn drives to Grigg's house, realises the very early time, and snoozes in her car. When Grigg exits his house, he sees Jocelyn's car and knocks on her window. Jocelyn finally gives in to her feelings and they both passionately kiss.
One year later, the book club meets at Sylvia's library charity dinner. Grigg and Jocelyn are together, Sylvia and Daniel have reconciled, Prudie, who is pregnant, attends with Dean (who appears more enthusiastic about Austen), and Bernadette introduces her (seventh) husband.
In The Book Club Deconstructed, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, screenwriter/director Robin Swicord explains how each of the six book club members is based on a character in one of Austen's novels. Bernadette represents Mrs. Gardiner in Pride and Prejudice, Sylvia is patterned after Fanny Price in Mansfield Park, Jocelyn reflects the title character in Emma, Prudie is similar to Anne Elliot in Persuasion, Allegra is most like Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, and Grigg represents all of Austen's misunderstood male characters.
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before going into limited release in the US. It opened on 25 screens on September 21, 2007 and earned $148,549 on its opening weekend. It went into wide release on October 5, expanding to 1,232 screens and earning an additional $1,343,596 that weekend. It eventually grossed $3,575,227 in the US and $3,542,527 in international markets for a worldwide box office of $7,163,566.[2]
Critical reception
As of June2020[update], the film holds a 66% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 116 reviews with an average rating of 6.08/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Though at times formulaic and sentimental, Jane Austen Book Club succeeds on the strength of its likable ensemble cast. Even those not familiar with Jane Austen's work may find much to enjoy this lighthearted romance."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 28 reviews.[4]
Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film "is such a well-acted, literate adaptation of Karen Joy Fowler's 2004 best seller that your impulse is to forgive it for being the formulaic, feel-good chick flick that it is ... Like the other movies and television projects in a Jane Austen boom that continues to gather momentum, it is an entertaining, carefully assembled piece of clockwork that imposes order on ever more complicated gender warfare."[5]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film "a celebration of reading" and added, "oddly enough that works ... I settled down with this movie as with a comfortable book. I expected no earth-shaking revelations and got none, and everything turned out about right, in a clockwork ending that reminded me of the precision the Victorians always used to tidy up their loose ends."[6]
Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film "enjoyable if fairly predictable ... It's all a tad too neatly packaged, like a brand new set of Austen with the bindings unbroken. Still, a lively ensemble cast works hard ... Swicord's gift as a screenwriter is that her catch-up summaries avoid sounding pedantic or like CliffsNotes. She's less assured as a director. Her pacing is off, with some scenes going on longer than they need to and others whizzing by so fast you miss the nuances. Relationships aren't always as clear as they should be. Still, Austen devotees are sure to lap up the central premise that her notions of love and friendship are as relevant today as ever. And if The Jane Austen Book Club gets people thinking about forming a club of their own, it will have served a more admirable purpose than most movies."[7]
Carina Chocano of the Los Angeles Times said it was nice to see "a movie so alive to the pleasures of reading and writing and sharing books, especially when the love feels sincere ... in parts, the story feels awkwardly truncated or too shallow to matter. But Swicord has a playful sense of humor and a good ear for dialogue, and the movie pleasantly accomplishes what it set out to accomplish."[8]
Dennis Harvey of Variety stated, "While there are occasional forced notes ... Swicord's direction proves as accomplished as her script at handling an incident-packed story with ease, capturing humor and drama sans cheap laughs or tearjerking."[9]
Claudia Puig of USA Today praised the film, noting: "This is Austen lite, but pleasantly so. You can hardly fault a movie that fashions itself around a consummate writer whose keen sense of humor and gift for fully realized characters have resulted in countless screen adaptations."[10]
Related Research Articles
Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.
Northanger Abbey is a coming-of-age novel and a satire of Gothic novels written by Jane Austen. Austen was also influenced by Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote (1752). Northanger Abbey was completed in 1803, the first of Austen's novels completed in full, but was published posthumously in 1817 with Persuasion. The story concerns Catherine Morland, the naïve young protagonist, and her journey to a better understanding of herself and of the world around her. How Catherine views the world has been distorted by her fondness for Gothic novels and an active imagination.
Emma is a novel about youthful hubris and romantic misunderstandings, written by Jane Austen. It is set in the fictional country village of Highbury and the surrounding estates of Hartfield, Randalls and Donwell Abbey, and involves the relationships among people from a small number of families. The novel was first published in December 1815, with its title page listing a publication date of 1816. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian–Regency England. Emma is a comedy of manners.
Persuasion is the last novel completed by Jane Austen. It was published on December 20, 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death, although the title page is dated 1818.
Margaret Grace Denig is an American actress and model. She is known for playing Shannon Rutherford on the ABC television series Lost, Kim Mills in the Taken trilogy (2008–2014), Irina in The Twilight Saga (2011–2012), and Althea Szewczyk-Przygocki in Fear the Walking Dead (2018–2021).
Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a 1999 novel by Helen Fielding, a sequel to her popular Bridget Jones' Diary. It chronicles Bridget Jones's adventures after she begins to suspect that her boyfriend, Mark Darcy, is falling for a rich young solicitor who works in the same firm as him, a woman called Rebecca. The comic novel follows the characteristic ups and downs of the self-proclaimed singleton's first real relationship in several years. It also involves many misunderstandings, a few work mishaps, and an adventure in Southeast Asia involving planted drugs and Madonna songs.
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actress and a former voice actress for children's programmes.
Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. The film features five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays her romantic interest Mr. Darcy.
Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.
Becoming Jane is a 2007 biographical romantic drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. It depicts the early life of the British author Jane Austen and her lasting love for Thomas Langlois Lefroy. American actress Anne Hathaway stars as the title character, while her romantic interest is played by Scottish actor James McAvoy. Also appearing in the film are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith. This was Ian Richardson's final film performance before his death in the same year as the film's release. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including Ecosse Films and Blueprint Pictures. It also received funding from the Irish Film Board and the UK Film Council Premiere Fund.
Persuasion is a BBC Screen Two 1995 period drama film directed by Roger Michell and based on Jane Austen's 1817 novel of the same name. In her theatrical film debut, Amanda Root stars as protagonist Anne Elliot, while Ciarán Hinds plays her romantic interest, Captain Frederick Wentworth. The film is set in 19th-century England, eight years after Anne was persuaded by others to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Persuasion follows the two as they become reacquainted with each other while supporting characters threaten to interfere.
The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels. The novel was a critical success and became a national bestseller.
Persuasion is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold, and the screenplay was written by Simon Burke. Sally Hawkins stars as the protagonist Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Captain Frederick Wentworth. Eight years prior to the film's beginning, Anne was persuaded to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Now 27 and unmarried, Anne re-encounters Wentworth, who has made his fortune in the Napoleonic Wars and is looking for a wife—anyone but Anne, whom he has not forgiven for rejecting him all those years ago.
Robin Stender Swicord is an American screenwriter, film director, and playwright, best known for literary adaptations. Her notable screenplays include Little Women (1994), Matilda (1996), Practical Magic (1998), Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008); which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay. She wrote and directed the 2007 film The Jane Austen Book Club.
The reception history of Jane Austen follows a path from modest fame to wild popularity. Jane Austen (1775–1817), the author of such works as Pride and Prejudice (1813) and Emma (1815), has become one of the best-known and most widely read novelists in the English language. Her novels are the subject of intense scholarly study and the centre of a diverse fan culture.
Anne Elliot is the protagonist of Jane Austen's sixth and last completed novel, Persuasion (1817).
The author Jane Austen and her works have been represented in popular culture in a variety of forms.
Andrea Galer is a British costume designer who works in film and television. She began her first project with the film Don't Look Now (1973), and has spent much of her career since then working in the genre of period film. These include three films related to Jane Austen, and other productions set in the 19th-century including Firelight (1997), Eroica (2003), and The Way We Live Now (2001).
Persuasion is a 2022 American romantic drama film directed by Carrie Cracknell from a screenplay by Ron Bass and Alice Victoria Winslow, based on the novel of the same name by Jane Austen. The film stars Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Richard E. Grant, and Henry Golding.
Jocelyn Harris is an academic known for her studies of Jane Austen's creative process, and for her promotion of the teaching and study of women's literature at the University of Otago.
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