Becoming Jane (2007)

A biographical portrait of a pre-fame Jane Austen and her romance with a young Irishman. - Jane Austen

The year is 1795 and young Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway) is a feisty twenty-year-old and emerging writer who already sees a world beyond class and commerce, beyond pride and prejudice, and dreams of doing what was then nearly unthinkable, marrying for love. Naturally, her parents are searching for a wealthy, well-appointed husband to assure their daughter's future social standing. They are eyeing Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox), nephew to the very formidable, not to mention very rich, local aristocrat Lady Gresham (Dame Maggie Smith), as a prospective match. But when Jane meets the roguish and decidedly non-aristocratic Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), sparks soon fly along with the sharp repartee. His intellect and arrogance raise her ire, then knock her head over heels. Now, the couple, whose flirtation flies in the face of the sense and sensibility of the age, is faced with a terrible dilemma. If they attempt to marry, they will risk everything that matters - family, friends, and fortune. - Orange

In 1795, cocky, witty, handsome, Limerick-born lawyer Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy) is sent by his grim uncle and benefactor, rich-born snobbish London hanging Judge Langlois (Ian Richardson), to relatives' Hampshire country estate. His sharp mind and attitude initially clash with local Reverend Austen's (James Cromwell's) rebellious daughter Jane (Anne Hathaway). But soon they prefer each-other to the expected better-off fiancés, and must wrestle their families and society at large or sacrifice their budding love. Beloved relatives further complicate the romantic picture. - KGF Vissers

This is an inspirational movie about the life of Jane Austen (Anne Hathaway), chronicling her romance with a young Irishman, Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy). It focuses mostly on the way that he influenced her life and became the inspiration for her writing that we all know and love today. Jane Austen and Tom Lefroy are both, in a sense, non-conformists, and Austen's typical "no marriage without affection" is put on display as she rejects the Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox) that society expects her to marry. This movie invites you to witness how Austen and Lefroy's initial obvious disdain for each other and their shared roguish repartee transforms into a vehement love for each other that goes against the conventional expectations of society. - Shaina Ong