Miss Potter DVD Review

Miss Potter could easily have been a stuffy biopic, or worse yet, one heavy with melodrama. Instead the same light which seemed to shine through the works private writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter seems to illuminate this film. A magical approach is taken with the book’s characters, who Beatrix sees as her friends, living a reclusive lifestyle of an artist. This is her position at the beginning of the film, but as she works towards getting published and becomes a quick success, Beatrix finds herself opened to much more than she ever expected.

Beatrix and her publisher’s sister (Emily Watson) have chosen the life of a single woman, not a particularly popular choice at the time. Beatrix is determined to be her own woman, proving her worth with her stores and drawings, which she successfully publishes. This brings her approval from her father, yet her mother still seems determined to see her marry and belittles any variation on this plan. Soon it becomes evident that Beatrix’s publisher (Ewan McGregor) has developed feelings for her. This completely changes her plans of a solitude life of success, and soon becomes another struggle for her when her parent’s disapprove of a husband who is a tradesman.

Despite the fact that she has made enough money from her books to leave her parents entirely, she seeks their approval. When they finally come to an agreement to allow Beatrix marry if they have a secret engagement for a summer, she agrees and they write letters for their summer apart, each anticipating their future together. This deeply romantic and formal relationship quickly takes forefront over the stories Beatrix continues to write. Where the story goes from here is not altogether unexpected, mostly because there is such a light tone up to this point, which is nearly always a sign of a storm to come. Even with the mishaps which cause problems in her romantic life, Beatrix always keeps her friends nears her, illustrations which come to life for her.

The highlight of the special features is the commentary track by director Chris Noonan, although the featurettes, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter” and “The Making of a Real-Life Fairy Tale” are fairly well made as well. There is also a music video by Katie Melua and a theatrical trailer.