Gentle reader, let us imagine the early life of Jane Austen and the influences and matters of the heart that shaped a great novelist.

That is the delightful premise of Becoming Jane, a costume drama that stars Anne Hathaway as Austen and James McAvoy as Irish lawyer Tom Lefroy.

The movie suggests that Lefroy, who was mentioned in letters from Austen to her sister in real life, was the love of Jane Austen's life.

The movie further suggests that the relationship between Austen and Lefroy fuelled her writing.

Similar ideas are put forth in Jon Spence's biography of the novelist, Becoming Jane Austen, and Claire Tomalin's Jane Austen: A Life.

So, attention Janeites: Calm down.

Becoming Jane begins in 1795, when Jane is 20.

The story quickly introduces the social struggle between sense and sensibility in the 18th century; Jane and her parents (Julie Walters and James Cromwell) and her sister (Anna Maxwell Martin) are endlessly engaged in conversation about prospects, money and inheritance.

All talk of marriage is, by definition, talk of money, and Jane's mother is pushing her toward the dweebish Mr. Wisley, who will one day inherit the fortune of his rich aunt (Maggie Smith).

Jane, however, has other ideas. She is shown to be independent and outspoken.

Hathaway is very good at showing the character's constant struggle between her own notions and the social strictures of the time.

Then Tom Lefroy turns up in the country, sent off to visit rural relatives as a punishment for his louche behaviour in town.

He is considered vaguely scandalous but attractive by the local girls, except Jane, who finds him rude.

They exchange insults, move on to flirting and eventually recognize love.

Then there's the usual great battle between passion and duty.

Becoming Jane is bright and witty and all Masterpiece Theatre-y to look at, a pleasant change from the fantasy creatures and sequels that have clogged up theatres all summer.

The film is littered with nods to Austen's novels -- everything from bits of lifted conversation to such items as an aristocrat's beloved pug dog.

The story is touching, the dialogue clever, the cast is great and the period detail is impressive.

The only problem is that Hathaway is unmistakably an American in her height and her body language.

And her perfect teeth.

She stands out in a fashion that interferes with the willing suspension of disbelief.

Her English accent is fine, so it's not that.

She is simply too tall, too beautiful, too much a movie star to be mistaken for an 18th century woman.

Well, we should all have such problems.

(This film is rated PG)
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