But not THAT late, so let’s get started!

No Cluebatting today, we think (sorry to The Times readers who popped in looking for a bit of virtual violence–more on that in another post). There’s another article about James Cromwell in The Telegraph, which we actually rather enjoyed.

For example, although he certainly enjoyed seeing the latest film he recently appeared in, Becoming Jane, a sweet, clever film about the life of Jane Austen, he’ll also tell you, frankly, that he didn’t expect to.

‘I didn’t think I was going to like it, based on my relationship with the director,’  says Cromwell, who plays Austen’s father, a benevolent man with grave financial troubles. The director – Julian Jarrod, of Kinky Boots fame – ‘never spoke to me. I had to go to him and say, you know, my performance will be better if you say something to me.’

Inattentive direction notwithstanding, Cromwell’s performance, predictably, is as solid and engaging as any other in the film – vulnerable, touching, his character is sympathetic enough for us to understand why his wife couldn’t help but choose him, insolvency and all. Jarrod might be forgiven for taking Cromwell’s acting for granted, given his reputation and years of experience.

He’s kind of cranky. We are all sympathy. (And we had totally forgotten that he played Stretch Cunningham on All in the Family. Talk about your blasts from the past.)

Cosmo Landesman reviews the film for The Times , and finds it a bit passionless.

For all the promise of providing a fresh look at the life of Austen, there are no real surprises here. We’re back in that world we all know so well from her novels and recent films, only this time the lead character is Austen playing an Austen heroine. All the familiar themes (propriety v passion) and familiar types (snobbish aristocrat, pushy, matchmaking mum) are present and correct. And, as with Mrs Brown (about Queen Victoria’s romance with her gillie) and Miss Potter, the film wants to show its subjects as humans with real passions — but not too much passion, and heaven forbid any sexual longing. I suspect that the makers of Becoming Jane were careful not to offend Austen’s core followers by being too revealing.

The core followers, for the nine hundredth time, are more exercised about the Made Up Story, but thanks for thinking of us. We guess.

Anna Maxwell Martin gets the Five Minute Interview treatment from The Independent:

My character Cassandra Austen in Becoming Jane…

Is Jane Austen’s sister and she’s terribly sensible and gets her heart broken. It’s very sad. She’s the levelling force for Jane Austen, the wild one. She tries to get her back in line, but fails miserably. We had a good time filming in rainy Ireland.

If she is a wild beast, she cannot help it. Tee-hee.

The Limerick Post has an interesting article about Tom Lefroy’s family; information one probably won’t get from the Made Up Story.

Anthony and Ann were blessed with a large family, of whom Thomas, born in 1776, was the eldest son. Tom was a very bright boy and entered Trinity College, Dublin at the age of 14 to study for a fellowship. Although he had a distinguished academic career, winning three gold medals and taking his degree in 1795, he had become ill from overwork, and was sent to recover his health while visiting his uncle George’s Rectory at Ashe in Hampshire. It was during this sojourn that he became friendly with Jane Austen, whose father was at that time Parson of neighbouring Steventon.