Miss Potter is based on the story of the world’s best-selling children’s author, Beatrix Potter. At thirty-two Beatrix is still unmarried and refuses her mother’s pleas for her to accept any one of many suitors; for Beatrix, marriage is not something a woman must accept just because society expects her to. Much to her mother’s distress, Beatrix is determined to publish her illustrated children’s book and thus gain independence from her parents on whom she feels a burden. Her editor, Norman Warne, falls in love with her animal characters and charming stories and vows to make her book a success. Beatrix not only finds herself more successful than she could ever hope for, but she also falls in love with her editor. Despite her parents’ disapproval, Beatrix is adamant on marrying Norman. But life never turns out the way one plans, and Beatrix soon finds herself living a whole different life than the one she had hoped for.
I’ll admit than I’m not much of an expert on Beatrix Potter, so I couldn’t tell you how factually correct this film was. And to be honest I’m not particularly fussed as this was such a sweet, charming film that I can’t really fault it. I admit I never bothered watching this when it was first released because I was unsure I could cope with watching Renee Zellweger play anyone other than the ridiculously loveable Bridget Jones. I’m actually kicking myself for not watching this earlier, as Zellweger did not disappoint in portraying the courage and passion of Beatrix Potter. The gorgeous cinematography coupled with the simple romance and it’s impending sadness makes for the perfect ingredients for my kind of film – you know how I like a bit of drama and tragedy.
On a side note, I had no idea that Beatrix Potter is credited with preserving much of the land that makes up the Lake District National Park today! As they say, you learn something new every day…