Jane Eyre: The Movies (Part 2)

Last week I posted my reviews for every Jane Eyre adaptation available to me. As promised, here is the follow-up post, which will hopefully be a little less scholarly, and more fun.  

Read Part 1

My recommendations

My movie recommendations depends on who you are and how acquainted you are already with the story.

If you do not know the story at all, I would suggest watching the 1983 mini-series so you can know the complete story, and then the version from 1996 and/or 2011. If you dislike older, slow-moving movies, or you already know the story, skip my first recommendation.

Now, here’s the deal about the ones from…

1996: It’s a fairly good representation of Jane and the acting is good; there is an enjoyable feeling throughout, and just something unaccountable that makes me like it a lot even though the story is much shortened and strays from the storyline too much. Enjoy it, but don’t trust it.

2011: This one is too short as well, but overall I like the actors better, and it does maintain the novel’s storyline. Things such as hair color are observed correctly, and it got some elements and details the others are without (missed a lot too, but…). It’s rated PG-13, pretty much for a painting of a nude woman which Jane sees and later inspects (don’t ask me why). These parts taken away, and I think it would be PG. I’ve heard it’s an old-fashioned, realistic looking painting, and might actually have gotten away with PG in some other film. I can’t tell you first-hand because I fast-forwarded it. If you wish to do that too, I can tell you exactly where if you like.
This version could be confusing because it starts in the climax area and then is comprised of flashbacks.

So, just consult your own taste from my reports and choose accordingly. One more thing – if you watch the one from 2011, definitely watch the deleted scenes called “Badminton in the Garden” and “Bertha Rips Veil in Jane’s Room.” These are rather important to the story and in my opinion should not have been left out. Some of the other deleted scenes were strange, though.

The bottom line is: if the story sounds of interest to you, be sure to read the book. Nothing can tell you the story like it can!!

Watching a movie first could be a good thing or a bad thing depending. It’s better to read it first I’m sure; I didn't, but I knew I’d want to read it when I watched it. For others it might just give a wrong impression of the characters, however.

My favorite

I really cannot decide. There are good and bad points to all the ones I like. The three mentioned above are my top favorites, of course. Maybe my favorite is the 2011 version (un-PG13ed, that is). While it was much too short to be quite satisfactory, it was really a beautiful film and, for the most part, not inaccurate to the novel. Jane wasn’t tall or too old (yay!), Blanche Ingram had dark hair (yay!) and Mr. Rochester was definitely not repulsive. *Spoilers* The main thing I disliked was the Rivers not being related to Jane. To me, that’s a very important part of the story, and shows us more of her character by how she reacts. At least she got her fortune, though. *Un-Spoilers* It did get the part with St. John, Diana, and Mary a lot closer than several others (and most of the main versions).

I’ve only seen it once, though, so this may not yet be enough to proclaim it as my favorite.

And here we have Melody the Trailer Fanatic giving you one for each of her top 3:

Which is your favorite? I’m very interested to see the results of this poll.

Which is your favorite version of Jane Eyre?

2011 2006 1997 1996 1983 1973 1970 1943 1934

pollcode.com free polls

Other favorites

Just for fun….

Favorite Jane

This is sort of a tie between Charlotte Gainsbourg (1996) and Mia Wasikowska (2011). C.G. is rather too tall and her hair is darker, I think, than Jane’s was supposed to be; but she did have rather ‘irregular features’ – interesting looks, which at the same time did not at all displease me…not really un-pretty. I liked her acting pretty well too, even though I think she should have been a little more passionate a few times.

M.W. was a good enough actress, although she didn’t say things the way I imagined Jane to; she just wasn’t quite Jane. (But then, who can be, but Jane in the book?) By the way, does anybody know what sort of accent she had? It wasn’t the same as people, and the Jane Eyres, usually have on these films – to me it actually sounded closer to lower-class characters – and it bugged me a bit. She was a little too serious, but then most of the movies portray her that way. She is in the book, too, part of the time; but not for all of it. She definitely has a sense of humor, and can say funny, witty things. (Right, Miss Dashwood? haha)

I guess if the tie-breaker is height and hair color, M.W. gets the award. (She’s short by today’s standards I think, but still not short enough in comparison to her Rochester’s height.)

Favorite Mr. Rochester

You cannot know Mr. Rochester at all until you read the book, and even then he takes some deciphering.

I’m not satisfied with any of them, but that’s hardly surprising, is it? That seems to be my answer to everything.

Toby Stephens (2006) might fit the book’s description of Mr. Rochester the best, but for me, there is something wanting. There’s something about his portrayal that I don’t like, and I can’t put my finger on it, especially since I haven’t seen the whole thing.

Okay, down to business. I’ve been delaying my answer: I really do have a favorite this time, and that’s Michael Fassbender (2011). He’s not, in my opinion, un-handsome enough to be accurate, but you know, I prefer that to the other way around. (tehe) I thought his rants when he first came back to Thornfield – banging on the piano, going outside and shooting the air – were a bit strange and nothing like that occurred in the book, but that’s not the actor’s fault.

He was just more likable than others. When they make Rochester dislikable, it’s harder to sympathize with Jane, and half the impact of the story is gone.

He still wasn’t right, but you know.

As always with this version, the character was underdeveloped; there wasn’t enough conversation to know him well enough, etc.

Favorite Mrs. Fairfax
Joan Plowright, 1996. This is probably the easiest one to answer. I thought she was spot-on.

When I first heard Judi Dench was Mrs. Fairfax in the new adaptation, I thought it sounded like a really good fit. Actually seeing her in that role didn’t quite rise to my expectations. She wasn’t cheery enough or…something. Maybe Miss Dashwood is right – she’s just Miss Matty, and there’s an end to it. ;-)

Favorite Adèle

Some people might not consider Adèle an important character, but after all, she’s the whole reason Jane went to Thornfield.

The Adèles aren’t very easily compared, but my favorite is probably Josèphine Serre from 1996. I’m not sure why, but I just remember her the most, and I liked her pretty well. She was too old for the part in real life, though.

St. John Rivers, 1996

Favorite St. John Rivers

St. John (Or “Sinjon/Sintjon” as they say it) is actually a fairly major character when it gets to that part of the book. In most of the movies, that part is way condensed.

My favorite as far as accuracy goes is Andrew Bicknell from 1983, and he was pretty good. Otherwise, though, I liked Samuel West from 1996.

Recognizable actors from all versions

Here’s a list of actors I recognized from each version, and the parts they played in other movies (mostly what I’ve seen).

1934

Colin Clive (Mr. Rochester) – “Henry” Frankenstein, Frankenstein (1931)

1970

George C. Scott (Mr. Rochester) – Ebenezer Scrooge, A Christmas Carol (1984)

Susannah York (Jane Eyre) – Mrs. Cratchit, A Christmas Carol (1984)

1983

Tracey Childs (Georgiana Reed) – Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility 1981; Suzanne, The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

1996

Amanda Root (Miss Temple) – Anne Elliot, Persuasion (1995); Mrs. Davilow, Daniel Deronda* (2002)

Fiona Shaw (Mrs. Reed) – Mrs. Croft, Persuasion (1995)

Samuel West (St. John Rivers) – Mr. William Elliot, Persuasion (1995)

Joan Plowright (Mrs. Fairfax) – Martha Sourby, Return to the Secret Garden

1997

Samantha Morton (Jane Eyre) – Harriet Smith, Emma (1996, A&E)

Ciaran Hinds (Rochester) – Captain Wentworth, Persuasion (1995); Michael Henchard, The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003); Lord Tarleton, Amazing Grace

Deborah Findlay (Mrs. Reed) – Miss Phoebe, Wives and Daughters (1999); Miss Tomkinson, Cranford (2007) and Return to Cranford (2009)

Gemma Jones (Mrs. Fairfax) – Mrs. Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Rupert Penry-Jones (St. John Rivers) – Captain Wentworth, Persuasion (1995)

Elizabeth Garvie (Diana Rivers) – Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice (1980)

Peter Wight (Clergyman) – Mr. Wilfer, Our Mutual Friend* (1998); Mr. Gardiner, Pride and Prejudice* (2005)

2006*

Christina Cole (Blanche Ingram) – Mrs. Augusta Elton, Emma (2009); Nora Rowly, He Knew He Was Right; Caroline Bingley, Lost in Austen**

Francesca Annis (Lady Ingram) – Mrs. Gibson, Wives and Daughters (1999); Lady Ludlow, Cranford (2007) and Return to Cranford (2009)

Pam Ferris (Grace Poole) – Mrs. General, Little Dorrit* (2008); Mrs. Boffin, Our Mutual Friend* (1998)

Andrew Buchan (St. John Rivers) – Jem Hearne, Cranford and Return to Cranford (2007, ’09)

Georgia King (Rosamond Oliver) – Pet Meagles/Gowan, Little Dorrit* (2008)

Charity Wakefield (Miss Temple) – Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility (2008)

2011

Jamie Bell (St. John Rivers) – Smike, Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

Judi Dench (Mrs. Fairfax) – Matilda (“Miss Matty”) Jenkyns, Cranford and Return to Cranford (2007, ’09); Lady Catherine De Bourg, Pride and Prejudice* (2005)

Sally Hawkins (Mrs. Reed) – Anne Elliot, Persuasion (2007)

*I may not have seen this (or all of it) therefore I can’t recommend it as a whole; OR could mean I know there’s something in it which I found objectionable. I either recognized the actor from what I did see, or I heard about them being on it, etc.

**I would definitely not recommend this if I had seen it, which I have not.

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So, which Jane Eyre movie(s) is (are) your favorite(s)? (Don't forget to vote on the poll!) Favorite portrayals of the main characters? I love to read your comments. =)