Jane Eyre

A beautiful version. Beautiful for inspired traits of Jane Eyre offered by young Laura Harling and by Samantha Morton. For the fair portrait of Mrs Fairfax ( indeed, not the most remarkable , of great Gema Jones ) and for , maybe, the best option for Pilot.

Samantha Morton is Jane Eyre and this is the precious virtue of film. But only phzsical because she seems lost, in few scenes, in the webs of her character. Faithful to novel ? Not exactly , but this is the consequence of too short duration. In compensation, solutions for cover, few new details, a good scene of the room of Bertha Rochester in the moment of revelation.

Ciaran Hinds ? Is he a decent Edward Rochester ? I suppose. He is not the master of Thornfield who I imagine reading the novel. But his effort to create a reasonable Rochester, from nuances of bitterness and forms of cruelty to intensity of love are not so bad and just meritous.

The huge enigma is St. John because the demand of marriage is so hurried, the character becomes so kind, good looking ( more like the Greek god proposed by the lines of novel ), than the refuse of Jane Eyre becomes...absurd.

A beautiful version. This is my opinion, not ignoring the so many expectations about adaptation of a masterpiece .

The latest A&E production of Jane Eyre was short but satisfying. While it might have benefited from being longer, they managed to tell the basic story and retain the emotional impact. Unless you're an unforgiving purist, the cuts shouldn't detract from your appreciation of the movie. And if you are an unforgiving purist (there is nothing wrong with that), go find a copy of the Timothy Dalton '83 adaptation.

The biggest point of contention seems to be the performance styles. Peoples' takes on the way Mr. Rochester should be played tend to vary. I've seen the productions with William Hurt and George C. Scott criticized for having a Rochester who was so restrained he might as well have been the heroine in a Jane Austin novel. These people felt Rochester should be played passionately and with fire. After all, he's a manipulative would-be bigamist. Then there are people who feel Hinds was too wild in his portrayal of Rochester and a more restrained, subtle approach was warranted.

If you want a restrained, subtle Rochester, don't watch this version or the Timothy Dalton BBC production from '83. Go for the William Hurt or George C. Scott adaptations of Jane Eyre. If you're like me and you'd prefer a wilder Rochester, you'll probably enjoy both the '97 A&E and '83 BBC productions.

This movie is a watered-down and anemic portrayal of the novel, Jane Eyre.

Ironically, I read "Jane Eyre" because I caught PART of this movie on A&E one morning & thought that it looked good. I'm really glad that I didn't stay to watch the whole movie. If I did, I may never have read the book.

I finished the book today, and enjoyed it completely. I ran around all day looking for this movie, hoping to see a powerful and moving enactment of the beautiful, slightly supernatural tale. I am really glad I was able to rent it. If I'd bought it, I would be quite irritated right now.

I think that most of the problems with this movie lay in the writing. It seems to me that the screenwriter(s) sacrificed the best parts of the book in order to make the movie less than two hours. All of the things that I looked forward to seeing were gone or changed.

For the most part, I think the acting was good. But what was up with those kissing scenes? Jane looked pretty uncomfortable. Why didn't the director orchestrate the scene so that we did not have to see the actual 'kissing?' Clearly, the actors were not as passionate about each other as the characters were, but did we really have to see that?

The only thing that really recommends this movie is the scenery--it was beautifully filmed. However, the hammy acting and seemingly constant yelling of Ciarán Hinds & Samantha Morton spoil much of the beauty of the story. One of the things that attracted Mr. Rochester to Jane Eyre was her serenity. I saw none of that restful quality in this performance. This being one of my all-time favourite novels, I do enjoy watching all versions but I must admit this one was a disappointment. The British versions of the classics are usually better.

Many reviewers loved this version; many hated it. And that is exactly as it should be. There are many possible interpretations of good literature, just as every person's character has many different facets. Versions of Shakespeare's plays have been enacted for hundreds of years and still every version represents something different about humankind, especially if there is innovation in the production, script or acting.

I first read Jane Eyre when I was about 8, nearly 60 years ago. It was the first book I ever cried over and it's fair to say that was part of my emotional development. I have read it many times and seen many filmed versions since - and I still love it, simply because it is fresh every time as different aspects reveal themselves - either because they are in the book or because the book resonates differently with me as I change.

So please open your mind when you watch this - and other - versions of the Bronte books. In my view it is not perfect, but few productions ever are. Even so, it was interesting, enjoyable and a joy to watch.