Miss Potter: Long Before Harry, Beatrix Wove Her Magic

Over the summer, I was chatting with my grandma, and she told me that she had just seen a wonderful movie by the name of Miss Potter and that I really ought to check it out when I got the chance. As it happened, I already had intended to investigate the biopic of Beatrix Potter, who's been a favorite of mine since I was introduced to Peter Rabbit as a tender toddler, but the endorsement of my grandma, who rarely enjoys movies, made me even more intrigued. Now that I've finally watched it, I can emphatically echo her opinion.

Miss Potter, written by Richard Maltby Jr. and directed by Chris Noonan, introduces us to the lively, delightfully eccentric Beatrix (Renee Zellweger) as a woman in her early thirties who still lives with her encouraging father (Bill Patterson) and restrictive mother (Barbara Flynn), who insists she be accompanied constantly by an elderly chaperone. As the film opens, Beatrix's only friends are imaginary, an assortment of charming rabbits, ducks and other domestic farm animals that will look familiar to anyone who ever picked up one of her tiny volumes. We see them as she does, not relegated to the page as she has arranged them but taking on lives of their own, blinking their bright little eyes, twitching their wispy whiskers, waddling across the page with a cheeky flap of the wings. These characters become real to her, and she is determined to let the rest of the world fall in love with them as well.

Her task is not initially an easy one. Though she has honed her skills as an artist and storyteller for years, as we see in flashbacks to a childhood spent blissfully roaming the English countryside and entertaining her brother Bertram (Oliver Jenkins) with fanciful tales, her classic story about Peter Rabbit is met with a sniff and a sneer when she approaches the stuffy Warne brothers, Harold (Anton Lesser) and Fruing (David Bamber), about the possibility of publication. However, timing works to her favor, as their idealistic younger brother Norman (Ewan McGregor) has stated his desire to join the family business and they need a throwaway project to give him, since they doubt he will distinguish himself as a publisher.

Thus, a perfect partnership is born. For Norman sees all the enchantment in Beatrix's work that his brothers miss, and he intends to prove them wrong about the "bunny book" they would have cast aside. As the business relationship blooms into friendship, Norman introduces her to his mother (Phyllida Law), who is startled by Beatrix's spunk but taken with her nonetheless, and his sister Millie (Emily Watson), a free thinker who revels in her lack of romantic attachments and soon becomes Beatrix's closest friend. Meanwhile, Norman enthusiastically encourages Beatrix to write more stories for publication, and in her continued acquaintance with the gentle, exuberant young publisher, Beatrix begins to rethink her staunch stance on the virtues of spinsterhood...

I confess that I'm not always such a fan of Zellweger, but perhaps it's not so much her as the characters she has portrayed. I found whiny, petulant Bridget Jones hard to handle, and I saw nothing lovable about Chicago's dastardly, manipulative Roxy Hart. But I loved her role as the uncouth but hard-working and gutsy Ruby Thewes in Cold Mountain, and she's equally enjoyable here as the much primmer but no less spirited Beatrix.

Funnily enough, her living situation reminds me of that of Shannon Christie in Far and Away, portrayed by Cold Mountain star Nicole Kidman. She's a modern young woman at the turn of the century being held back by the societal expectations of her high-class mother, while her father is more understanding of her dreams. In fact, Mr. Potter once wanted to be an artist himself but never pursued it because it was not deemed respectable, so he appreciates Beatrix's artistry and helps her to nourish it, though he still is none too keen on the idea of her courting a tradesman, especially after she rejected so many upper-class suitors that her mother hand-selected.

McGregor is predictably endearing from the moment we meet Norman, with his eyes twinkling underneath his hat and his mustache extending to his deep-set dimples as he flashes a dazzling grin. Norman, as it happens, has a much better head for the publishing business than his fusty brothers suspect, but otherwise he has little in common with them. While it's hard to imagine them as carefree young lads, Norman obviously has retained his sense of childlike wonder, and what a happy gift that is to the world! I adore him every bit as much as I do Beatrix, particularly in a giddy yet vulnerable Christmastime scene that allows him to make use of his excellent singing voice with a fanciful original tune by Bright Eyes songwriter Mike Batt that is sung more completely by the ethereal Katie Melua over the closing credits.

Yes, Miss Potter is a love story, and a crackin' good one at that. But more than that, it's the story of one marvelously imaginative young woman's insistence upon embracing life's joys and sharing them with others, even in the midst of her own sorrows. Because as heart-warming and exhilarating as the film is, it's also tinged with tragedy. That Beatrix took the trials life handed her and transformed them into opportunities to bestow lasting beauty upon the world, not only through her beloved books but through her tireless conservation efforts in England's Lake District, beautifully preserved on film through Andrew Dunn's shimmery cinematography, is a true testament to her spirit.

Anyone who's ever smiled at the antics of Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher or especially Peter Rabbit will love this story of how they were born. Wholesome and prickling with the best sort of enchantment, Miss Potter is pure magic.