MOVIES

Becoming Jane

Screenwriters Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood take a minor incident in the life of Jane Austen and use it as the basis for a movie that imagines how the beloved English novelist came to write her most famous book, "Pride and Prejudice."

Anne Hathaway plays the 19th century English author as a 20-year-old, before she was published. The filmmakers picture her as a proto-feminist, but one who is hot enough to be the most desired young woman in this part of Hampshire. The daughter of a parish preacher, she is a drain on her family's resources, which means she should marry as soon and as well as possible.

The rich but dull Mr. Wisley (Laurence Fox) is interested, and his aunt and benefactor, Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith), gives her consent to the match despite strong reservations about the young woman's uncommon candor. However, like her most famous character, Elizabeth Bennett, Jane can't stand the idea of marrying without love, a notion her father (James Cromwell) tolerates and her mother (Julie Walters) can't abide.

Jane's affections are eventually captured by the unruly Irishman Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy), who is studying law in London with the help of his own haughty benefactor relative. Lefroy's excessive partying has gotten him banished to the countryside where he meets Jane, and after some typical romantic comedy misunderstandings the two come to believe they are meant for each other.

Since we know Austen never married we can only assume the liaison won't last, but director Julian Jarrold manages to bulk up the fantasy with some high-minded romantic intrigue.

Meanwhile, Williams and Hood ably mimic Austen's sophisticated diction, and the characters are all fully formed humans rather than caricatures. The love story isn't entirely credible and probably isn't meant to be, but true to its title the movie makes a strong case for why Jane Austen turned into a writer, and a great one.

Directed by Julian Jarrold, starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy

Starting Saturday in Tokyo and Fukuoka, to be followed by theaters elsewhere

Whiteout

Kate Beckinsale plays U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko, who is head of security at a scientific research station in the Antarctic. As the movie begins, the facility is about to close down for six months of winter, but Stetko may not be able to leave with the rest of the international crew since a corpse has suddenly been discovered in the middle of a distant ice field. Her job dictates she investigate the death, which could be a murder since the body is mangled beyond recognition and there is no indication of how it ended up in the place where it was discovered.

As shadowy figures pop out of the snow to prevent Stetko from getting anywhere with her investigation, director Dominic Sena takes advantage of the white-on-white production design and the bulky clothing for some mildly suspenseful chase scenes involving tow lines, ice axes, and mittens that don't stay on hands.

The background story justifying all this mayhem has to do with a Soviet cargo plane that crashed in the area back in the 1950s, but the script doesn't develop the mystery in a compelling or consistent way. Various characters, including the station's physician (Tom Skerritt), a U.N. worker (Gabriel Macht) and a pilot (Columbus Short), are all vaguely offered up as either Stetko's allies or murder suspects, and a subplot about why Stetko ended up at the South Pole is so listlessly recreated that you get the feeling it was included for no other reason than to extend the film's running time. This feeling is reinforced by a resolution that elicits a shrug instead of surprise.

Directed by Dominic Sena, starring Kate Beckinsale and Gabriel Macht

Starting Saturday at theaters nationwide

Also opening

"Don't Look Back," a documentary on Bob Dylan's 1965 tour directed by D.A. Pennebaker, runs Saturday through Nov. 3 and "The Last Waltz," on The Band's final concert directed by Martin Scorsese, runs Nov. 4-6, both from 8:30 p.m. at Shinjuku Musashinokan (03-3354-5670) in Tokyo.(IHT/Asahi: October 30,2009)