Jane Eyre

A while back, my friend Elisa (All About Allans blog) commented on my goodreads.com review of Jane Eyre. She has never read it and seemed surprised at my 5-star rating. Apparently she's seen a movie version of it in which many of the characters' lines come off as sappy and overly romantic.

Older BBC version with Timothy Dalton as Mr. Rochester

I've only ever seen an older and very unsappy BBC version, which I've only seen perhaps once or twice all the way through. In the book, Mr. Rochester (and others, but especially him) uses very embellished language, but almost always with a kind of sarcasm that I can't imagine many actors being able to really portray accurately. Jane herself is a very "plain Jane" with simple, Quaker-like tastes and tendencies, mixed with an inner strength and passion for right. Again, hard for me to imagine a Hollywood actress really being able to embody this.  In the book, you see the two of them forge understanding built eventually on open communication with each other despite their difference in social ranking and life paths. Couldn't help but think that Elisa should give the book a try.

However, last night at the movies, I came to understand more clearly her perspective.  One of the previews was for an upcoming adaptation of none other than Jane Eyre. I must confess, I laughed through the entire preview. They made the book seem like some kind of horror/action/romance. I have no idea how they wheedled out a PG-13 rating from that book unless they really play up the few moments of violence with extra shots of blood and guts.

Aside from that, to me the lines heard in the preview are delivered in a way that really does make Mr. Rochester and Jane seem like the worst match ever, just as Elisa had said was her impression from a previous movie version. Even their choice of actors seems amiss. They appear to carry a little bit too much Hollywood gloss and glam to make them fit for the multi-faceted and self-admittedly "plain" and "ugly" main characters. (Although she does a good job of looking the part when she goes off on how she's poor and little.)  Cinematography and set design look beautiful, though mixed in with strange special effects (black smoke shooting out of chimney???). These are my impressions based solely on the one preview. In short, if any of you see it and love it, I am willing to hear your defenses and perhaps repent laughing at it . . . perhaps.

For your own analysis: