Review of Jane Eyre (2011) by Tsz Yeung Yvonne P — 21 Sep 2011

Directing a film such as Jane Eyre is not an easy challenge to take. It implies for the director to have a respectful vision of one of the most famous classics of English Litterature while finding their own way to tell the story as it has been adapted over and over again for decades.

I would rather call this particular adaptation a remake than a new version. Everything is there to make it a masterpiece : impressive sets and gorgeous light effects are well chosen and definitely set this gloomy mood that is a pre-requisite to tell Jane Eyre's story.

The sequence when Edward Rochester and Jane meet for the first time is pretty good an instance of it and a must-see as well. One is also facing a clever, if not daring, cast. But directing Jane Eyre should be all about daring.

And there is nothing much daring about the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre. One could expect to be told the story from other angles and see new sequences that were never shot or shown in a Jane Eyre film before.

To this day much of Emily Brontëâ(TM)s original material has remained unexplored. However Cary Fukunaga doesnâ(TM)t seem to have been willing to run the risk to have a large audience unpleased with new postulates that would have made it a modern day version, nor does she really goes deeply into the major themes of the story, some of which being overlooked.

As such Bertha Mason will once again keep being the old lunatic bad woman we all know and Jane her holy antonym. Itâ(TM)s then such a pity to have such a magnificent production at the service of a story that is still the same and starts failing to thrill us for we know it too well.