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This biography of children's author Beatrix Potter explores how she overcame a domineering mother and the chauvinism of Victorian England to become a best-selling author.

I saw a screening of this last night and in all honesty wasn't expecting to like it.

For the first few minutes I was worried it was going to turn out to be Beatrix Jones's Diary, with Renée Zellweger sounding and looking as you imagine a Victorian Miss Jones would, but fortunately such fears were quickly swept away. Instead we were treated to a gentle and at times touching love story, that, at a mere ninety minutes long never outstays its welcome.

Miss Potter walks that fine line between charming and cloying with pleasing sure-footedness. Apple-cheeked Renee Zellweger (Bridget Jones' Diary) once again slips into a British accent to play writer/illustrator Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit. Potter, born into wealth, fought the disapproval of her high society mother to do something as crass as publish a book... and to fall in love with her publisher, Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor, previously teamed with Zellweger in Down With Love). Unfortunately, their love runs into something worse than upper-class stuffiness. Miss Potter skips through Potter's life a bit too briskly at times, but Zellweger's thankfully restrained performance, McGregor's infinite charm, and some beautiful shots of the English landscape keep the movie grounded and engaging. Also featuring a crackling supporting performance by Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves) as Warne's sister Millie. --Bret Fetzer

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