I saw the movie "Miss Potter" today starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. I liked it. It wasn't a blown-away kind of like because the movie was soft and slow-moving. But I was enchanted by Beatrix Potter (Renee) each stroke as she brought each of her characters to life (literally). The animal characters she drew were her "friends". She talked to them, took walks with them, and traveled with them.
The movie was charming, whimsical, and gorgeous (shot half in Cumbria, England -- aka "the Lake District), perfect movie for a lazy Saturday afternoon to imagine fanciful escapes.
(Another destination to add on to my travel itinerary.)
Beyond the beautiful scenery and adorable drawings of animals, it was great to be reminded that a strong, independent woman can be found any time, any where. So refreshing to see a female character on screen that was portrayed as being successful AND happy just by perfecting her craft and accomplishing her ambitions without having marriage to be really the only thing that she wanted but masked behind her ambition. Recent movies about modern women seem to be taking on a trend of portraying the smart, beautiful, successful woman as someone not really content in her own shell because the success that she's achieved is all pretty empty without a man.
Don't get me wrong. I have that same empty nest syndrome from time to time especially when weddings have replaced birthday dinners/clubbing/trips as the main social events that bring me and my friends together each year. I've caught myself thinking "When is it my turn?" more times than I ought to. But then a figure like Beatrix Potter comes along and reminds you that it's not about "your turn" but rather "your time." Beatrix Potter was in her 30s when she found her 1st love (Norman Warne -- who died of leukemia before they were able to marry) and 46 when she finally married William Heelis. Marriage was not a goal or a rite of passage, but a commitment you entered into if "you loved a man and the man loves you" -- which may or may not happen. Any woman who makes a choice based on her own clock rather than anyone else's clock deserves to be applauded.
