Posted on 02/11/2021 5:43:59 PM PST by C19fan
This is my fifth adaptation of Jane Eyre. The others are the 1943 movie with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, 1970 movie with George C. Scott and Susannah York, 1983 with Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clark, and 2006 with Toby Stephens and Ruth Wilson.
The version starts by not following the chronology of the novel. The first image is Mia Wasikowska as Jane Eyre running from Thornfield Hall. Of course, anyone has read the novel knows why she is fleeing. She eventually finds refuge at the Rivers’ home. There is stunning scenery in this part as the filming was done on location in the Derbyshire Dales. Then I saw the Rivers sisters and I immediately recognized them. Holliday Granger plays Diana while Mary is played by Tamzin Merchant. I have seen both of them especially Miss Granger in other period dramas. As Jane is recovering from her ordeal she has flashbacks to her growing up at Gateshead and attending Lowood School. Sally Hawkins plays the wicked Mrs. Reed.
After these flashbacks, St. John Rivers finds a position for Jane to teach the less fortunate girls in the area and she moves into her combination school and new home. Then Jane has flashbacks of leaving Lowood and going to Thornfield Hall to take her new position as governess. Dame Judi Dench plays Mrs. Fairfax. This movie uses the same location, Haddon Hall, as the 2006 adaptation. If I ever have a chance to go on my dream literary/period drama tour of England I must make a stop there.
One scene I was bitterly disappointed with as it went entirely against the text. I am referring to Miss Eyre’s wintry walk to Hay where she will meet Mr. Rochester for the first time. Charlotte Bronte wrote this:
The ground was hard, the air was still, my road was lonely; I walked fast till I got warm, and then I walked slowly to enjoy and analyse the species of pleasure brooding for me in the hour and situation. It was three o’clock; the church bell tolled as I passed under the belfry: the charm of the hour lay in its approaching dimness, in the low-gliding and pale-beaming sun. I was a mile from Thornfield, in a lane noted for wild roses in summer, for nuts and blackberries in autumn, and even now possessing a few coral treasures in hips and haws, but whose best winter delight lay in its utter solitude and leafless repose. If a breath of air stirred, it made no sound here; for there was not a holly, not an evergreen to rustle, and the stripped hawthorn and hazel bushes were as still as the white, worn stones which causewayed the middle of the path. Far and wide, on each side, there were only fields, where no cattle now browsed; and the little brown birds, which stirred occasionally in the hedge, looked like single russet leaves that had forgotten to drop.<./i>
What a Romantic scene of Miss Eyre appreciating the natural wintry scene around her as dusk approaches. How does the movie handle this? Well they make Jane into some Little Red Ridin’ Hood walking through a dense foggy forest scared to her wits just waiting for the big bad wolf to come out. I imagine Miss Bronte rolling in her grave.
Jane does not encounter a wolf but Mr. Rochester played by Michael Fassbender.
My next complaint would be there was not one light hearted scene except for when Adèle Varens scandalizes Jane and Mrs. Fairfax with her singing a coquettish French song.
On the plus side, there is wonderful cinematography in this version with scenes lite with just candles and fireplaces creating wonderful moody effects with shadows. I did enjoy the Gothic elements with hearing the creakin’ of the wooded floors, the howling of the wind, and sounds that go thump in the night.
I did enjoy Mr. Fassbender’s understated performance. Also I heard Mia Wasikowska use a Yorkshire accent in her dialogue. Of course, the Bronte sisters grew up in Yorkshire.
Overall, I enjoyed this adaptation. I do not think it comes close to dethroning my favorite version from 2006 but I did enjoy the performance, the cinematography, and the wonderful scenery. On my scale of 1 to 5 bonnets, I would give this 4 bonnets.
My all time favorite book. Can’t wait to watch this version!
Excuse me?
This fifth one and the other four are yours?
Regards,
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