Movie Review: Love & Friendship (2016)

Hello, my lovelies!

(One would think that I'd been watching a lot of Emma Approved lately, but in fact I have not.)

I know it's been simply ages since I've posted, especially taking into consideration that I meant to post much earlier with a follow-up to all the hype about Lady Susan!  A thousand apologies.

I did get to see this movie when I said I would before.  I got to go with a couple of friends, a brother and sister who are kind of my Jane Austen proteges :P, and then again quite recently with my sister, once it came to what we like to call the "dollar theater". So, without further ado.

Because it's the thing I notice first about British drama, let's take a look at...

Recognizable Actors

Little Women (1994)

I can't quite remember the first time I saw this movie... but it was a few years ago. I enjoyed it a lot. I hadn't read the book and knew that the book must be better because it always is, but didn't end up reading it until earlier this year. Now that I have, I can review the movie with a clear conscience. Heehee.

The thing is, I'm not really used to doing movie reviews... usually I have a brief overview with all the adaptations of a particular book, but I didn't feel like doing that this time. Anyways, I definitely think this is the best version, although I've only seen two others so if you mention another one you liked, I might even be convinced to watch it. ;-)

Hmm, where to start? Well, I guess I'll just start with the main characters. That's easy enough. Hopefully.

Meg. A funny thing about this movie is that for me, it's actually pretty hard to compare it to the book, and it's the same way with the characters. I mean, with a lot of adaptations of classic literature you can say "This actress completely slaughtered the character," or "This actress got her to a T!" but with this movie, none of them really like the character in the book, but they're not really unlike them either. Anyway, I actually liked Meg pretty well. The movie being a normal movie-length and not a mini-series it wasn't long enough to get to know the characters very well, but in a general sense I think it was pretty good. She seems, perhaps, even a little more... gentle, I guess, in the movie.

Jo. La, what to say about Jo? She's one of those endearing characters you just have to love. As far as accuracy to the book, it's the same as what I was saying about Meg. I found the actress' portrayal very delightful and not contradictory to the book, yet not the same. But looking just at the movie, which is what I should be focusing on, I liked her a lot. She was funny and quite interesting--you know, there's a lot to her. And I always find myself drawn to characters who are bookworms and writers. It's just the way things are. And she's definitely my favorite sister in the movie. :)

Beth. Now, I'm a little more opinionated about the book-to-movie aspect here. I did think Claire Danes was a little contrary to the book's Beth... but not in a way easy to put my finger on. I guess she just irritated me a little. And in looks I just don't think she suited her too well, but it's not like I hated the portrayal. It was just okay. By the way, in the book Jo and Beth were closest to each other, and Meg and Amy were more of a pair, too. This wasn't very obvious in the movie: especially the latter.

Amy. (Isn't it funny how Amy is the only March sister with a name that can't be/isn't shortened?) For her, there are two actresses who play the character--one younger, one older. (And I'm glad they did this, because it's ridiculous when they have a twenty-something-year-old trying to play a character who's twelve.) The younger one seems to be the main one, though; when it gets to the part after Meg's wedding it seems like the whole movie turns its focus almost solely on Jo (which isn't the way it is in the book), though the focus is on her most of the time anyways. I don't like her when she's older, either. Amy, I mean. When she's younger, she annoys me some of the time (and I can never forgive her for burning Jo's book, no matter what Marmee may choose to say upon the subject) but I really do like her. She's funny and cute. The other one... there isn't much of her and when she is there she just seems rather like a cold, boring person. (Though after she marries...er, who she marries; should I be trying to write this without spoilers, I wonder?--she at least seems nice.) It was much better in the book. Actually, I was pleased to find that I liked Amy altogether better in the book. But especially when she's older.

Mrs. March (Marmee). I actually liked her acting rather well. The only complaints I have would be more the fault of the scriptwriter, and I rambled about my irritation in this post quite enough that at this point it will do as well to be silent. (Er, that last part was a Mr. Collins quote... sorry.) Anyway, again, everything is more detailed and you know a lot more about characters (and in this case, the relationship with their daughters) from reading the book, but let's just assume that from this point on, shall we?

Laurie. Hmm... he was all right. He wasn't really the Laurie of the book though, and his teeth irritated me. :P He was funny, though, and of course I like that. It was fun watching him and Jo. "If only I were the swooning type!" "If only I were the catching type!" But later on, after The Refusal... arrghh. I disliked him. More, I daresay, than the viewer is supposed to. Heh. But he wasn't all bad.

Professor Bhaer. I liked him, I really did. And then I read the book. It's the same old story. I like them both in different ways but the book's is better. I will confess, though, that there was one thing I liked better about him in the movie: the absence of a beard. Heehee. And I'll pull out the excuse not to say much about him because it might give away some of the stories for those who don't know it already. If indeed there are such people reading this. ;-)

Okay. I'll move on from characters now.

Grrrr. 

The costumes were lovely. I enjoyed them very much--and I really liked the 'real' feel they had to them, well suited to the story. And the hairstyles and all that. A lot of Victorian period dramas I see are, of course, set in England and the people are either rich and have a lot of fancy, fluffy clothes, or they're very poor and haven't anything fit to be seen. Haha. But the Marches, in comparison with those sort of things, are more in-between. They dresses were often practical yet detailed and interesting and just nice. And then of course some of the ball gowns and Older Amy's clothes are more rich-y.

The soundtrack was also very nice. As an actual soundtrack, I don't usually listen to it by itself all the way through very much... sometimes just a few songs, mainly the dance songs. But in the actual movie I think it goes quite well, and the main theme is nice. And sort of Christmassy. I guess that's because it plays at the beginning, and the movie starts on Christmas Eve.

Ooh, that's another nice thing about this movie... it has a lot of Christmas in it! and I do love Christmas. But enough of it isn't Christmas so that you can watch it other times too without feeling guilty. Haha.

Isn't the kitten cuuuuute?

As far as accuracy to the book goes... well, it's probably more like a general overview of the story. Little Women isn't really the shortest children's classic in the world. And they did change some things, but for the most part they didn't stray from the story terribly.

As a movie, I'd probably give it an A or A-. There's something delightful about it, but it's not one of the period dramas I go crazy over. (Some of you may doubt I ever do that. It's just in my own way, you know. :P)

I hardly think a review is complete without a trailer, so here's one, but it hath Spoilers. If you don't already know the story, I wouldn't recommend watching it. Also, some trailers I just find really fun to watch and they capture the spirit of the movie they're representing... this isn't one of them. (And why didn't they use music from the movie? Instead, music from this movie is used on other trailers... S&S95, for example.) But it does include one or two of my favorite quotes. :)

That's about it! Sorry this was so long in coming, everyone. I am a very sad procrastinator at times.

Miss Austen Regrets

I watched this movie first last December for Miss Dashwood’s Jane Austen Birthday Week, because there was a challenge and we were supposed to watch a JA adaptation we hadn't seen yet, or watch one with someone else who hasn't seen it before. Well, as most the ones I wanted to show my family had already been shown to them and I’d seen all the ones I was planning to see, I didn’t know what to do. But I decided to watch Miss Austen Regrets. 

People say about certain movies that everyone either loves it or hates it—well, with this one, I think everyone either likes it or hates it. Also, from what I have observed, those who like it seem to hate Becoming Jane, and those who hate it seem to like Becoming Jane.

Did I like it or hate it? Well, I didn’t hate it. Which surprised me, because I expected to. I’d heard all sorts of bad things about it—but the funny thing is, when I hear all sorts of bad things about something and then actually end up watching it, it’s easier for me to notice the good points, because I'm already prepared for the bad ones. That’s the way it was when I saw the 2011 version of Jane Eyre, too.

But did I really ‘like’ it? Well… I liked some of it. I liked it, but… hmm, there would be a lot of “buts.”

I liked it, but…

…it just wasn’t Jane Austen. Maybe this should go last, because it’s the most important fault, but I’m going to put it first. Just because.

    This encompasses a lot. As you all, I am sure, know, my loyalty to dear Jane Austen is unswerving. When the movie-makers get her wrong… that just won’t do. In some respects she was actually all right. The sort of dry sense of humor she had was tolerably well done, I think. However. The sparkle was missing. The cheerful sort of way that I know she was from reading her works, her letters, and what others said about her, was absent. Now, I don’t think Jane Austen was perfect. No, indeed, I think she had many faults just like we all do. But the way they tried to make her real… was misrepresenting. The flirting was way overdone and absolutely ridiculous. She joked about flirting in her early letters to Cassandra, but that was when she was 20, not 40. I am sure she had much more prudence than that. She acted in such a way as the characters she ridiculed in her novels did. (I think I'm stealing that point of view from Miss Elizabeth, but it was a good thought.) Granted, she was mostly joking, but… still. 

   As I said, her sparkle was missing, as was her good humor. She seemed grouchy and scowlish a lot. Now, I know that towards the end this was probably owing a lot to her being ill, but when you read the letters she wrote during her illness, and what others said about her, she had rather surprised everyone by how she tried to act cheerful in spite of it.

   In general, I’d say the good qualities Jane Austen had were removed or misrepresented in this movie. And I mean the good qualities of her nature and character, not her mind. Because she was clever and witty enough. Just, as I said, not quite cheerful enough in her wittiness. 

   Also, she was sort of too… melodramatic. Or something. And not the kind of melodramatic I like.  

…the seaside gentleman was missing. One of my favorite things in Jane Austen's real-life story is that mystery about the man she supposedly met by the sea, whom Cassandra was said to have told one of their nieces later on was the only man Jane every truly loved. The mystery and romance of that appeals to me, and I think it a good challenge for every bio-fic writer to acknowledge this possibility. (Early on in the movie, she says to Fanny that she loved and lost… but she never explained what that was supposed to mean.) I can sort of understand why they wouldn’t, because it’s not a proven fact from her life, but obviously they weren’t trying to avoid that, as…

…they made up romances for Jane. There was this man, a Rev. Bridges, who was supposed to have proposed to her in the past, but she refused him. And I am not talking about Harris Bigg-Wither. He was there, too, but this is another guy. And he’s still around later on, but he’s married, and seems to still be interested in Jane (highly inappropriate!). I don’t approve. Also, she is sort of interested in a this young doctor during the story. Now, she pretends to be interested in a couple of other gentlemen too, and that’s just her flirting nonsense. Which annoys me, as I said. But she seemed to be genuinely interested in this one, but then finds out that he isn’t really interested in her, and feels rather jealous because he seems slightly taken with her 20-year-old niece, Fanny Knight. 

To read a guest post I did on Miss Dashwood’s blog about Jane Austen’s real-life romances, click here.

…Cassandra Austen wasn’t right. She just… wasn’t. Also, in this movie, they have Cassandra help Jane decide to break her engagement with Harris (which they also made up, to the best of my knowledge), and near the end she says, weepingly, “I didn’t do it for you… I'm so ashamed!” and what was that supposed to mean? It was unexplained. And I don’t like loose ends. The speech she makes to Fanny at the end is quite good, but that’s only because it’s what she wrote in a letter in real life. It’s so touching and makes me cry every time. “She was the sun of my life, the gilder of every pleasure, the soother of every sorrow; I had not a thought concealed from her, and it is as if I have lost a part of myself.” *sniff*

…it had some things I found slightly indecent. There were a few things in there that made me think “um, was that really necessary?” or “if they say something else like that, I’m turning this off.” (One might consider me to be very picky, though.) If you want me to explain better, let me know.

…there was too much wine-drinking going on. Need I say more?

…Mrs. Austen was too… annoying. From what I know of the real Mrs. Austen, she wasn’t exactly the nicest or wisest character, but in this movie they just make her too mean and… eehh.

So. After all that, you might be wondering… what did I like about it? What about it made me not exactly dislike it?

Well, despite all the inaccuracies, it is supposed to be about Jane Austen, and it’s just too much fun to have all those beloved names spoken, and actually hearing the characters talk about Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility; to hear people quote Mansfield Park, and Jane reading Persuasion aloud to Mrs. Austen and Cassandra in the kitchen; these things just can’t be in the Jane Austen novel adaptations, and I found it delightful. And of course it includes some tidbits of things that really did happen in Jane Austen’s life; like being ‘invited’ to dedicate Emma to the Prince Regent.

I also thought the focus of Jane’s relationship with her niece Fanny Knight was interesting; Jane Austen really did have a special friendship with Fanny, and though they made everything a bit silly at times, I still found most of it enjoyable. Fanny sometimes acted like an immature, spoiled brat, but when she didn't act like that I rather liked her. "You said yes because he was rich and no because you didn't love him? That's so romantic!" (Speaking of Harris Bigg. And I completely agree.)

Also, the music. When I like the soundtrack to something, the movie usually goes up a couple notches in my head. But then, I usually have to like a movie to like its soundtrack. Well, no, maybe I just have to have seen the movie to like its soundtrack. And I need to stick to the point here.

Anyways. I found the soundtrack on YouTube, and it’s one of my favorite things to listen to while I’m doing dishes. Heehee.

One of my favorite songs from the movie:

So, would I recommend this movie? Weeeeell… if you’re already a secure Janeite – read the novels, learned a bit about Jane Austen’s life, perhaps even read some of her letters – and want to watch a bio-fic movie, then maybe so. Just prepare to be disappointed.

My Grade/Rating: B-

Actors I recognized from other films I’ve seen/seen part of

Olivia Williams (Jane Austen) – Jane Fairfax in Emma (1996, A&E)

Greta Scacchi (Cassandra Austen) – Mrs. Weston in Emma (1996, Miramax), Lydia Glasher in Daniel Deronda (2002)

Imogen Poots (Fanny Knight) – Blanche Ingram in Jane Eyre (2011)

Tom Hiddleston (John Plumptre) – William Buxton in Return to Cranford (2009)

Hugh Bonneville (Rev. Brook Bridges) – creepy guy Mr. Grandcourt in Daniel Deronda (2002)

Trailer

A Christmas Carol (1984)

A Christmas Carol (1984) with George C. Scott

This post is half short review and half a promotion of sorts for one of my favorite movies, and probably my very favorite Christmas movie.

Almost everyone as heard of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and can associate it with Scrooge, “bah, humbug”, etc.; in fact, it seems like if you ask someone about Charles Dickens, this is the only story they know about.

Most people have seen some movie version or other; whether it’s the Muppet’s version, or that weird new animated one, or a cartoon something-a-rather, or the one with Patrick Stewart; but it seems like no one has seen this gem, and I can’t figure it out, because it is, in my opinion, the best by far.  (Second best would probably be one of the black-and-white versions).

Spirit of Christmas Present and Scrooge

I can’t compare it too accurately to the book since I haven’t read the whole thing yet, but so far it follows the story and gets the important quotes quite right.

It isn’t silly and it isn’t really spooky like some of the others; it’s just right, and although it has its sad moments it all in all maintains that nice Christmassy feeling. Lovely old-fashioned air too, and you know I must be a great advocate for that!

Scrooge with his nephew and niece

Acting: very good; costumes: very good; this is not like an old 80s BBC mini-series (well, because it isn’t one), it is quite well-made.

And the music! The soundtrack is splendid. Those of you who are fans of The Scarlet Pimpernel will be pleased to know that it’s the same composer (Nick Bicât). It has several Christmas carols played and sung on the streets, and the songs composed for the movie are lovely as well! You can listen to the whole soundtrack (and buy it) online here: http://www.nickbicat.com/music/index/?id=20

Mr. and Mrs. Cratchit & some children

A tradition in our family ever since I can remember has been to watch A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve and eat special treats we have once a year. Then the ‘kids’ open one present each, and we sleep in the living room & admire the Christmas tree. Once the afternoon of the 24th arrives, it’s like the realization finally hits that it’s Christmas and I get really excited. ;-)

Needless to say, this is the version we usually choose to watch, and though I used to just take it for granted I’ve learned to love it on my own in the last year or two, and am looking forward to it more than ever this year!

I haven’t recognized many of the actors, but here’s a little piece of trivia: George C. Scott (Scrooge) and Susannah York (Mrs. Cratchit) star together as Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre in Jane Eyre (1970). They are far better suited to their roles in A Christmas Carol, though.


I couldn't find a trailer, but I like the first 20-ish seconds of this video:

And, you can watch the whole movie on YouTube...

What about you? Have any of you seen this version, or any of them? Have you read the book?

Merry Christmas!

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.

~~~

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. =)