Review of 'Miss Potter'

miss_potter.jpg This pleasant film tells the story of British author Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) in the early 20th century. The daughter of wealthy parents living in London Beatrix strives to achieve personal independence by publishing her children stories of “Peter Rabbit” and friends. Given a contract by the London based publishing company “Frederick Warne & Co” she quickly falls into a romantic relationship with one of their partners Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor) until fate tragically steps in to take him away from her.

A charming and wonderfully told story of the beloved children's author Beatrix Potter I saw this rather coincidentally while I was visiting the Lake District in England which was Potter's home for much of her life and where she purchased a great amount of land that was given to the public, int the form of the National Trust when she passed away. The Lake District features prominently in this story as it was so important to Potter, particularly following her purchase of her first house there, “Hilltop”, and it is very much part of her struggles to break free from the life her parents would wish her to pursue: That of a life of leisure but not one of independence.

Zellweger and McGregor are perfectly suited here for the young couple in love which makes their unexpected separation that much harder to take. A calm and gentle film both treat the material lightly and it is all the better for it making it a joy to watch. Despite this lightness the serious struggle for a young woman of the early 20th century to break free of the life she was born into is the focus of the story and here also Zellweger is able to put across the difficulty of this yet it never entirely convincing and could be suggested she was not as fierce as the original Potter had been.

Wonderful and light romantic story (set in some stunning scenery) that certainly brought me a lot more understanding of the life of a remarkable woman.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2018-10-07


Directed by: Chris Noonan

Studio: Phoenix Pictures

Year: 2006

Length: 88 minutes

Genre: Melodrama

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482546/