Between the Pages

This review relates to the 1996 film adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s novel, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane, and William Hurt as Rochester.  There may be minor spoilers contained therein for anyone who is not familiar with the book (but if you’re not familiar with the book and you are familiar with this film, I’d suggest that you don’t judge a book by it’s adaptation!).

Actually, this film is better than I expected it to be.  However, as with many adaptations of novels, chunks of the story were cut out, and there was some playing around with the timeline and the setting of certain scenes.  Unlike the Orson Welles version, this film does at least contain a nod to Jane’s cousin St John and his sisters, but little more than that.  (I think that part of the story is important, and it’s a shame that it’s not covered more thoroughly; for example St John’s request that Jane marry him and travel to India with him does not feature here.)  It confirmed my feelings that a running time of just under two hours is simply not enough to tell the story of Jane Eyre.

I expected not to like William Hurt in the role of Rochester – he seems an unlikely choice – but he was actually far better than I thought he would be, and his English accent was excellent.  That said, in Rochester’s early scenes, he is supposed to be abrasive and lacking in social finesse – Hurt seems to have eschewed that somewhat, and instead plays the character as a rather likeable man, from the offset.  I definitely preferred his portrayal to that of Orson Welles, although nowhere near as much as Toby Stephens in the 2006 mini series.

Unfortunately I was never convinced by Charlotte Gainsbourg as Jane.  She certainly looked the part, but she seemed so wooden in the role, never expressing any emotion.  It felt as if she was just reading lines off a page.  However, Anna Paquin was great as young Jane, and the early scenes of Jane’s childhood were some of the best of the film.  Joan Plowright played Mrs Fairfax – a character I’m fond of.  There was nothing wrong with her acting, but she did have the look more of a comedy character.  However, the biggest surprise was Elle McPherson as Blanche Ingram!  I can’t begin to explain this casting choice, so I’m not going to try.

Overall, I’ve probably not done real justice to the film – the scenery was great and the general atmosphere of the book was captured here.  I probably would recommend it as one of the adaptations of this novel which is worth watching.

Year of release: 1996

Director: Franco Zeffirelli

Writers: Charlotte Bronte (book), Hugh Whitemore, Franco Zeffirelli

Main cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Hurt, Fiona Shaw, Joan Plowright

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Click here for my review of the 2006 mini series ‘Jane Eyre’.

Click here for my review of the 1943 movie adaptation.

Click here for my review of the 1997 movie adaptation.

Click here for my review of the novel.

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