Jane Eyre

Year of release : 2011

Run time : 2h

Genre : Drama / Romance

Cast : Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench

The movie is based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte,published in 1847.

 

The movie opens with the ending, Jane walking while crying through the moors, being found in the rain by a man ,who offers her shelter,in the house he lives in with his 2 sisters.

Jane's parents died when she was a kid, and was supposed to be raised by Mrs. Reed, a cruel woman,and her aunt. After this woman's older son hits her with a book in the head, hitting her against the wall, causing her head to bleed, she is being punished for fighting back,and locked in a room she is afraid of.

Her aunt calls the headmaster of Lowood School for Girls,whom she lies to about Jane being a deceitful liar. The religious man uses her as an example to the other girls ,by keeping her standing on a chair all day without food or water, telling the other girls to never speak to her. She does make a friend, who soon dies. The people running the school are very mean, beating the girls for no reason.

At 18,she seems to be the only girl who made it out of there alive. She is offered a position as a governess to a little girl who only speaks French, at Thornfield Hall .

One day, being sent to deliver the mail,she meets a man who falls off a horse. When she comes home later, she finds out the man is Edward Rochester, the master of the house she lives in.

Mr. Rochester seems to be drawn to her, and so is she, drawn to him.

Jane wakes up one night ,as she feels someone is at her door, and finds Rochester's bedroom on fire. They manage to put the fire out, and he asks her not to tell anyone of the incident.

Jane does so, and he leaves to see a woman, Mrs Fairfax, the housekeeper, tells her might be his new wife. A week later, he comes back with this woman and her family.

He asks for Jane to join them,but once at the party, the woman keeps on talking about how awful the governesses are, when she finds out Jane is one. Jane leaves, and wants to leave his house altogether, but Rochester refuses to let her go.

 

Jane and Rochester talk a lot but they don't seem to understand each other, specially since Jane doesn't understand the way he talks, hiding what he means.

At the same time we see Jane in the present, not wanting to talk about herself with the family which offered her shelter.

The movie has poetic lines, and beautiful landscapes and interior design. I didn't care for the clothes. The men's side burns were ridiculous !

The actors were fine. Mia Wasikowska, who plays Jane,is sad, withdrawn, just like a character who was dealt a bad hand in life.

I liked the soundtrack which matched the pensive vibe of the movie.

The movie is for rent / sale on Amazon, Apple, Fandango at Home.

Rating : It's so money!