"Jane Eyre" Review

It’s a daunting task to adapt one of the greatest literary works of the nineteenth century into a two-hour film; and while the cast brilliantly brings these classic characters to life, the overall execution of the story left me underwhelmed.

To be fair, my background is in English literature and I’ve recently participated in a discussion of Jane Eyre, so the novel is pretty fresh in my mind and I’m probably being overly critical because of that. A friend of mine, for example, saw the film and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

For those of you who haven’t read the novel, Jane Eyre—set in 1820s England—is about a young woman who is hired as a governess for the ward of a temperamental master named Mr. Rochester. Jane hears rumors from the other servants that the manor—Thornfield—is haunted by the ghost of a woman. During her time at Thornfield, she and Rochester fall in love and decide to marry.

The novel does a really good job of balancing gothic—a haunted house, dangerous secrets, etc.—with romantic elements. The film, however, flip-flops between the two parts of the story without ever finding the appropriate balance, and in fact winds up abandoning the gothic components altogether—much to my dismay.

Before I get too down on the film, I want to mention how fantastic the performances were. Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) captures the humble, confident, quick-witted Jane from the novel; Michael Fassbender’s (Inglorious Basterds) Rochester is dark, ill-humored, but romantic; and the brilliant Dame Judy Dench lights up the screen in her portrayal of Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper. Without this cast, sitting through Jane Eyre would’ve been a chore.

Unfortunately, the rest of the adaptation leaves much to be desired. There were several details from the novel that were either changed or omitted, and my favorite scene—where Jane sees the ghost for the first time—was entirely absent from the film. Also, the decision to abandon the gothic elements once the romantic plot took off destroyed the tone that had been created from the beginning and gave me the sense that I was watching two different movies.

Again, I understand that omissions have to be made when a 400-plus page novel becomes a two-hour movie, and for what it was, the film wasn’t bad. But, it could’ve been so much better.

6 of 10