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Reviews
Jane Eyre (2006)
A must see!
I was elated that there was another adaptation of Bronte's Jane Eyre. I've seen most of the versions and and this one is the best, by far! Most of the versions do not follow the book exactly. In the 1944 adaptation with Orson Welles, see how many parts of the book were combined, made up, unexplained and forgotten. Check out the 1997 version with Samantha Morton and judge whether Rochester was really that rough with Jane and generally gruff. If you want a thoroughly precise version, watch the 1983 11-episode mini-series with Timothy Dalton, oh right, Rochester is supposed to be ugly! Oops! Re-read the novel: Rochester was "not handsome," but he was no Quasimodo either. As for the age difference, in the book Jane thinks that Rochester "had not yet reached middle age, perhaps he was thirty-five." To an almost nineteen year old, that's twice her age, but hardly an old man (as most of the readers have defined him to be). Jane Eyre is a passionate and beautiful story that commands the performance of truly talented actors: I thoroughly enjoyed the current version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. They both showed depth to their respective characters and their likenesses and portrayals were very close to the book. One must forgive artistic license, but I was particularly struck by Rochester's confession scene: Mr. Stephens was mesmerizing showing a man who is passionately in love and doing everything in his power to keep Jane from leaving him. Miss Wilson was equally wonderful in that scene showing Jane Eyre's strength despite her passion for Rochester. An unforgettable scene which summed up the characters' emotions even if the scene was not "played out" the way it is written in the book! Also, the editing of this scene, shown in two flashbacks following Jane's departure from Thornfield, was a refreshing departure from previous "traditional" versions. There were other scenes that were not in the book but, I think, were in the same vein as in the original. You don't want to miss this!