A classic tale of love, passion, intrigue and madness.
This is one of the most recent adaptations of the classic novel of the same name written by Charlotte Bronte. It stars Toby Stephens and is a wonderful love story enjoyed the world over.
The plot
The story follows the life of a one Miss Jane Eyre, orphaned at an early age and left in the care of her domineering and cruel aunt Mrs Reed. From here she is sent to Lowood boarding school, under the care of the deeply unpleasant Mr Brocklehurst. After a number of years she matures into a capable young women and accepts a place as a governess at Thornfield Hall, were she teaches a young French girl by the name of Adele. The master of Thornfield Hall is Mr Rochester, son of a wealthy landowner and an enigmatic, brooding, but deeply handsome man. What follows is a deepening in affections and feelings between Jane and Mr Rochester, and a tale of the obstacles they encounter. Oh, and of course there’s always mysterious goings on in the attic!
The actors and production staff
The main leads are played by Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre) and Toby Stephens (Mr Rochester). Ruth Wilson is an actor who is relatively new to TV, with her only other role before this playing the seductive Jewel Diamond in the channel five sitcom ‘Suburban Shooter’. Toby Stephens has appeared in many TV dramas including ‘The Chamomile Lawn’ and ‘The Tenant of Wildfell Hall’. He has also appearance in a handful of films including ‘Die another day’ and ‘Possession’.
Other actors which appear in this adaptation include; Lorraine Ashbourne (Playing the field, In a land of plenty) as Mrs Fairfax, Tara Fitzgerald (Waking the dead, The tenant of Wildfell Hall, Brassed off) as Mrs Reed, and Georgie Henley (The lion, the witch and the wardrobe) as the young Jane Eyre.
The novel has been adapted by Sandy Welch, who has previously written the screenplay for another BBC adaptation ‘North and South’ and directed by Susanna White (Bleak House).
This DVD
There have been many retellings of this world renowned novel, including the 1983 BBC adaptation staring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and the 1996 film by Franco Zeffirelli staring Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt.
This adaptation includes many scenes that previous adaptations and films have left out, such as the gypsy scene. It is also more passionate than many others, with good sexual tension between the characters. Much of Jane’s childhood is skipped over in this version, which prevents you from seeing the formation of her character, but this I think is its only major flaw. Ruth Wilson is very believable as plain Jane Eyre, and gives a very honest portrayal of this character, who is full of feeling and repressed desire. Toby Stephens makes a very handsome Mr Rochester, fulfilling a similar role to Colin Firth in Pride and Prejudice and Richard Armitage in North and South. He performs well as a man who is both playful and mischievous one minute and darkly brooding and tortured the next. The sexual tension between the two main characters works well, and the attraction feels very real. Jane’s disappointment after her failed wedding day is palpable, and the flashbacks in the last episode while not truly faithful to the book add a real sense of drama and show that Mr Rochester is always in her mind no matter how far away she is from him.
The special features are a little disappointing, but included are interviews with the cast and crew, deleted scenes, trailers and a picture gallery. The best these being the deleted scenes are extensive and help to add to the understanding of the story.
I would recommend this adaptation to anyone who enjoys a good love story with a bit of substance. It is one of the best adaptations I have seen of the novel, with a superb ending which does the whole drama justice.
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every ounce of passion, drama, colour, madness and horror, bringing to life Jane's inner world with beauty, humour and, at times, great sadness.Newcomer Ruth Wilson...
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Jul 20th, 2007
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