Jane Eyre (1997)

Sometimes low-budget thrift in movies out-fancies lavish period pieces or blockbusters. This Jane Eyre, produced for A&E in 1997, works well despite its disadvantages–namely, that it was made on the cheap for A&E. We admit, we winced a little when we saw those two letters pop up before the DVD title. “Oh no,” we said, “here comes a TV movie.” Not the case at all. The performances were strong, with Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester (you’ve seen him in Persuasion) carrying the movie. Admittedly, our household was split on how well they performed–some of us have to make comparisons to the original novel or other productions–but there’s no doubt that they were not only consistent and believable, but moving.

Now while Jane Eyre the novel is partly about the boundaries of feminine self-expression in a male aristocratic world–though it’s not a proto-feminist work as some hornblowers for Female Liberation would have it–any Jane Eyre the movie will have a tough time replicating that theme. The third-person camera point-of-view replaces the first-person “I.” Consequently this A&E version focuses far more time on the relationship between the two main characters, and on the moral conundrums that Mr. Rochester’s secret provides. Take that all for what it’s worth. Yes, lovers of the book will roar in disbelief that numerous scenes were clipped or omitted. But that allows Mr. Rochester here to be a focus of the movie. And we liked Ciaran Hinds as Mr. Rochester quite a bit, who, though a man of money and reputation, leads an aggrieved life, yet he doesn’t know quite what to do when his new governess (that’s Jane) enters his life.

For Jane, her choice in husbands is between Rochester and an Anglican missionary-to-be. This version presented that choice as being between True Love and duty, with the latter involving a relatively dull banishment to India. We’ll let you guess which one won out for Jane. Rochester, though, may not make the best husband, asking in anger in one scene “What has God ever done for me?” It’s not clear if Rochester changes much, or at the end how devoted he is to his faith–if he has any at all. True, Rochester’s secret riffs on the story of Jacob visiting Laban, which deserves pity. Given the way the movie constructed her options, Jane’s choice was logical. But we’d like to see in a movie, for once, devotion to God (and picking a godly husband) win out over True Love. Not in this version, though.

Entertainment: 9
Intelligence: 7
Morality: 5