Jane Austen's Book Club

I watched this movie twice in peace. Tranquil is the only word I can describe the crush I had on it. Feeling like seated on the cozy sofa with a Cappuccino in hand, Jazz in the CD Player, and enjoying a great book under the orange light. Everything but lonely.

5 women, 6 Jane Austen’s Books, a 6-month journey for emotions, it seems a complete epitome for all women in the world.

All the roles and their stories involved in the plot smoothly and systematically develops with the sequel reading of the book club, even their emotions are accompanied with perfect logics, which is no doubt a kind of worship in depth for Jane Austen, putting her in the peak for the movie.

Jocelyn represents a type of modern women. They enjoy their singledom, living with pets, however endeavour to match others. It is not they don’t know what is love, not lack of passion either, they just fear of being hurt so that they refuse love and advocate self-control for physical attractions. They are strong, independent and capable, leading many men move back most of time. In the past this kind of women become freaks, however with the promotion of western culture and feminism, they gradually occupy their place in society. They eventually polarize into two parts, one like Jocelyn and Emma in the book, unexpectedly come across love and give up their singledom for the love crush, one like Jane Austen herself, return to self-peace and embody their emotions on careers.

Prudie represents women opposite to Jocelyn, those who are regarded as what a woman should be in tradition. They are romantic and have endless dreams about love. But they also easily have perfect lover fantasy on their partners, once which cannot be matched with the reality, they feel doomed and desperate, since they regard themselves totally as the substitute for men. They will simply lose the drive for life if being disappointed. It is easy for them to be derailed while seduced by other men.

Sylvia represents the general type of women; they follow rules and become a traditional wife and mother and believe they do their best for the family. But during the “Mid-age crisis”, some husbands will have affairs with others due to the boringness of their wives. They will never understand what they did wrong and blame everything on the third. In traditional countries, women are only allowed to follow their husbands, after several fights some slowly accept the truth and some get divorced and looked down upon; in open and free countries, they re-married or stay single with their children.

Benedette represents mature women who are always passionate and optimistic towards life; they failed in several marriages, but never lose hope for love. With the increase of age they have a tolerant and peaceful altitude for life, catching the pace of time with a young heart.

Allegra represents the homosexual team. Their destiny at large connects to the extent for freedom of their living community and people’s altitude towards it, and also their thoughts for themselves.

The only man in the book club, played by Hugh Dancy is a standout in the movie. Men’s thoughts on gender attraction are much more direct than women, thinking that it is like gravity unavoidable, focus more on logic and analysis while lack of imagination of romance. He likes Jocelyn who endeavoured to match him with Sylvia, being cautious and timid facing with Jocelyn’s independence and assertiveness. His thoughts on Jane Austen’s books seem alternative and superficial in women’s eyes, he is childish, careless, a bit stupid and innocent, and he is too real to resist by women.

the end is happiness to all, a fit to Jane Austen’s all books-Jocelyn realised her love with Grigg, Prudie pulled back from her young chaser and had a better communication with her husband, Sylvia had her courage back to new life while her husband returned to her realizing the warmth of family, Allegra got to know a new girlfriend, and Benedette was engaged with her sixth husband. If Jane always comes up with a happy ending because she is too lonely, as what Grigg said, the ending of this movie, is it a hint that calls up people’s courage of never giving up for their true love in the modern society, where people are becoming more and more distant to each others?

Only himself knows the answer.

A lot of tips you can get from the movie, unlike the other ones, forcing you to accept with exaggerating characters and plots, but with the sequel of the reading in the book club, drop by drop injected into your blood and become part of yours.

What really touches me in this movie, is that, a lot of thoughts you insist will be changed in a blink of an eye once you let go, a lot of things have never been gone or changed, but the change of the angle you inspect them cause the change of everything itself. In the nick of time between the mass change takes place, you just simply open your heart, watch, wait and welcome them once they come without looking away.

All novels and movies come from life but superior to life, or rather, an extreme and exaggeration of life. Life is real and practical without much excitement. Therefore, people who have higher goals and more demanding for life, are those who are outstanding in others’ eyes, while being out of league with others and easier to feel confused and blue. They will be famous, or infamous. If human beings are indeed creatures by someone up there, these people are the leading characters in the novel of LIFE.

I feel warm in this freezing winter while watching this movie, figuring out which kind of person I am, instead of taking tests.