JANE EYRE
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1996 Ben Hoffman
Charlotte Bronte, on whose book the film is based, was one of three sisters. One was Emily, also a famed author, and the other was Anne, a poet. As was the custom among the writers of the early and mid-nineteenth century, the stories ended with no loose ends, everything being pat and complete. Charles Dickens, a bit later, was not of that genre. What helps make JANE EYRE so intriguing is that much of the story came from Chartlotte's own life. Charlotte, like Jane (Anna Paquin, who won Best Supporting Actress in The Piano) was brought up in her early years in a parsonage school for orphaned girls, later becoming a governess. The adult Jane is played by Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Love, real love, was what she wanted in life. While in most situations, the governess would be an employee of the master of the house, Jane was made of stronger stuff so that she is more like one of the family. From there it follows that she and the "master," Rochester, (William Hurt) fall in love.
While films made from classics are seldom as good as the book itself, a good director such as we have here, is capable of bringing out all that the book tries to tell. Aided by such brilliant supporting actors as Joan Plowright as Mrs. Fairfax, all smiles, and Miss Scatcherd (a name Dickens would have loved) played by Geraldine Chaplin, strict and mean, the film is one you will not want to miss.
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
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Ben Hoffman
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