Good gravy, if I had to sit through one more second of this criminal adaptation I might be prone to do something bad.
Okay, so let's review. This version of Jane Eyre has been praised to the skies by some fans who call themselves "purists," not all, but for many it's the faithful adaption that quotes the lines from the book word for word, as if it was a script. But Jane Eyre is not script, it's a lively vibrant beautiful story of a girl who became a real woman so inwardly that no "accomplished" lady of the time could hold a candle too. I admire Jane for all her beautiful traits and beliefs and how well she stays true to her own character under all the tribulations without smelling of smoke. Yet, she's not devoid of emotion, feeling – everything a human possess, a heart which had never experienced romantic love until she met Edward – utter heartbreak and finally fulfillment of life because of love. Now, having said that, this is why the 1973 and 1983 adaptations fall so short for reasons I don't want to forgive.
Why translate Jane Eyre to screen at all if you don't take advantage of the visual storytelling? The way these two adaptations play out, they read from the book, verbatim as if what was meant for pages would work just as well as dialogue. And with zero body language and crude color palettes for every scene to-boot. It's a shame. It turns an exciting, riveting title into a bland and boring story that frankly isn't worth telling if you're going to strip it of all the passion, emotion and human aspects of Jane and Edward.
Sorcha had such little facial range, and no body language to indicate emotions. Rochester, like Jane, came off as a long-winded, boring intellectual because all he did was talk, and without passion. I could not feel ANY passion; likewise I could not feel any anguish! This is why such exactness in an effort to stay-true-to-the-book becomes a wasted effort. Visual adaptions NEED artistic leeway, to capture the essences of the story. If done this way, new scenes can be added because you have a feel for how the characters would behave, regardless of the scenario.
At first I tolerated this version but by the end I was angry. I felt nothing but boredom. I believe I even prefer the long drawn 1983 one to this. My reason for that is at least in 1983 I did like the characters of Jane and Edward enough to finish. Zelah and Timothy showed a bit more emotion, albeit not quite Jane and Edward for me but at least they had chemistry and were even adorable at times. I disliked Jaystons Rochester so much. He was wrong for the part. He did not have the masterful presence and mysterious persona.
For the life of me I cannot like this adaption. It may be some fan's favorite but it's lack of depth and human feeling makes it unrealistic and un-relatable. I need to feel these characters are human to be able to sympathize!
So that being all said, I do want to make one point, since leaving nothing positive on a review isn't cool. What I wrote is my opinion of one film that I was reviewing for a project, this does not mean that what I stated, you as a viewer, will feel the same. Perhaps many good qualities are to be unearthed in this adaption? I just know that personally I already have a favorite and don't need to make this the new one.
Okay, so let's review. This version of Jane Eyre has been praised to the skies by some fans who call themselves "purists," not all, but for many it's the faithful adaption that quotes the lines from the book word for word, as if it was a script. But Jane Eyre is not script, it's a lively vibrant beautiful story of a girl who became a real woman so inwardly that no "accomplished" lady of the time could hold a candle too. I admire Jane for all her beautiful traits and beliefs and how well she stays true to her own character under all the tribulations without smelling of smoke. Yet, she's not devoid of emotion, feeling – everything a human possess, a heart which had never experienced romantic love until she met Edward – utter heartbreak and finally fulfillment of life because of love. Now, having said that, this is why the 1973 and 1983 adaptations fall so short for reasons I don't want to forgive.
Why translate Jane Eyre to screen at all if you don't take advantage of the visual storytelling? The way these two adaptations play out, they read from the book, verbatim as if what was meant for pages would work just as well as dialogue. And with zero body language and crude color palettes for every scene to-boot. It's a shame. It turns an exciting, riveting title into a bland and boring story that frankly isn't worth telling if you're going to strip it of all the passion, emotion and human aspects of Jane and Edward.
Sorcha had such little facial range, and no body language to indicate emotions. Rochester, like Jane, came off as a long-winded, boring intellectual because all he did was talk, and without passion. I could not feel ANY passion; likewise I could not feel any anguish! This is why such exactness in an effort to stay-true-to-the-book becomes a wasted effort. Visual adaptions NEED artistic leeway, to capture the essences of the story. If done this way, new scenes can be added because you have a feel for how the characters would behave, regardless of the scenario.
At first I tolerated this version but by the end I was angry. I felt nothing but boredom. I believe I even prefer the long drawn 1983 one to this. My reason for that is at least in 1983 I did like the characters of Jane and Edward enough to finish. Zelah and Timothy showed a bit more emotion, albeit not quite Jane and Edward for me but at least they had chemistry and were even adorable at times. I disliked Jaystons Rochester so much. He was wrong for the part. He did not have the masterful presence and mysterious persona.
For the life of me I cannot like this adaption. It may be some fan's favorite but it's lack of depth and human feeling makes it unrealistic and un-relatable. I need to feel these characters are human to be able to sympathize!
So that being all said, I do want to make one point, since leaving nothing positive on a review isn't cool. What I wrote is my opinion of one film that I was reviewing for a project, this does not mean that what I stated, you as a viewer, will feel the same. Perhaps many good qualities are to be unearthed in this adaption? I just know that personally I already have a favorite and don't need to make this the new one.