Move along, Jane Austen. Hollywood is hot for the Brontës again!

[Hina]

I begin this post with apologies to all Jane Austen fans. I tried Ms. Austen, I really did but having laid my heart and soul at the alter of Brontë Sisters, a love affair with Miss Austen was beyond the realm of possibility. Of course, many generous readers have embraced both authors with equally stretched open arms, but for me it begins with Jane Eyre and ends with Wuthering Heights.

Therefore, it was with great delight and unrestrained smugness that I read a recent USA Today article titled "New films move the Brontës back into the Hollywood frame".

A link to the article at the end of the post but let me copy some choice observations:

"...enough with the endless circling of the Pump Room at Bath — time to get hearts racing! Time to bring back those wildly Romantic Brontë characters — plain Jane Eyre and moody Mr. Rochester, doomed Cathy Earnshaw and vengeful Heathcliff — to rend their garments, wail disconsolately and stagger across windswept moors"

"Austen's characters achieve their greatness through a kind of sideways movement toward happiness, (while) the Brontës hurtle themselves headlong into the maelstrom of emotions and situations."

New films move the Brontes back into the Hollywood frame - USATODAY.com

[ladywaterwind]

I'll give them their fair shot, but Jane Eyre was complete torture for me and no one can ever touch Jane Austen.

Austen 4 Life Yo! :)

[queenofthehivemomof5]

I love both Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte. Will be nice to see some Bronte on the big screen. Although no matter how good a movie is the book is always better!

[Hina]

So finally Jane Eyre opens in a 'select theater' near me and this past Saturday I drove 50 miles to view it on the silver screen and my verdict is ...I left the movie theater feeling underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, the acting was superb. Mia's Jane is small, plain and fierce. Fassbender's portrayal of Rochester is brilliant, his beautiful voice and excellent delivery of dialogue engaged the audience every time he appeared on the screen.

What it is then that would not make me give the movie 5 out of 5 stars? I believe the movie was several shades too subtle- to the point that ( for me) it did not allow its characters to shine through as much as they could and should have. Adele had none of the charm that is so endearing in the book and Helen dies without giving the audience any reason to mourn her tragic end. Blanche appears on the screen and when you blink she is gone. Bertha was given even less screen time. The characters that I mention are not fluff pieces in the novel- they are vital to the story but in the movie they just flutter though without leaving much impression. My two major disappointments were parts of the movie that showed when Rochester brings Jane to Bertha's lair ( after their botched wedding ceremony) and the last scene when Jane comes back to her blind lover.They could have been so much more stronger!!

The conventional wisdom is that 1996 movie with William Hurt and Charlotte Gainsbourg was no master piece but I have to say the 1996 version far beat the 2011 version as far as Jane Eyre's childhood was concerned. On the other hand, the 1996 version completely butchered the part of the story when the Rivers siblings make their appearance where as in the just released version the trio is given their just due.

I have to add one more thing- I believe my lack of enthusiasm for the movie also results from the experience of watching it along with 350+ people in the cinema. I know that not everybody is a die heart Jane Eyre fan and wants to listen to every word as if it unlocks life's mysteries but I cringed every time the audience laughed. It was okay to do so when Jane made a specially witty rebuke to Rochester's teasing but come on laughing at Mrs. Fairfax's facial expression when she sees Jane and Edward kissing the night he proposed !? It was as if the mood in the theater was dammit! it is a fine Saturday afternoon and I want to have me some fun, I've just spent $10 on the ticket and though the movie is serious and dark I am going to get my entertainment value by crackling at every scene that is remotely off beat.
I think once I have a chance to watch it in the privacy of my home I will be more drawn in and will like it much better.