Jane Eyre
So I have seen Jane Eyre (the new one). No one told me Harry Lloyd was in it! Just a bit part, Richard Mason, but still it was pretty cool. Overall, it was lovely. It was very pretty, and I decided that I was glad that they used the same house for Thornfield that every other Jane Eyre adaptation I have seen has used. I wonder if it's a sort of in-joke at this point. I think it held together very well, with various themes and motifs echoing through the whole film--I think doing much of it as a flashback probably made that easier--and while I found myself missing certain scenes or lines, not even the miniseries could manage all of it.
+ Michael Fassbender looks nothing like the Rochester in my head, but I don't find him particularly attractive, so it was okay.
+ Mia Wasikowska was too tall for Jane, but her coloring is more like the Jane in my head than any other Jane I've seen (though I picture her with grey eyes). She was mostly very good, and I think she did the sort of wild/elfin independence thing very well (I'm tired, forgive my clunky turns of phrase). Her massive piles of braids bothered me, though. The only bit where I really didn't like her was during her speech under the chestnut tree, but her reactions to what Rochester was saying were so good that I forgave her.
+ everyone looked very young. I imagine that was probably more true to the book, but it was a bit odd to see. Holly Grainger is, as always, adorable.
+ there was no Ferndean! what's up with that? I understand that they had to cut out a lot (and it made a nice tie to have Rochester where he was) but it was still sort of sad.
+ I had a really hard time telling what season they were in. I imagine they shot it all in a few weeks/months, and then tried to do various things to make it look like more time was passing, but the light was wrong and the plants were wrong and it was all very confusing.
+ it felt sort of weird that they took almost all of the religious themes out. I think that made it easier to focus on Jane herself that way, and it did very well, but Jane Eyre without a strong religious sentiment as reason for why she makes the decisions that she does is a bit odd.
+ the chestnut tree was hilariously cgi'd. And if you hadn't read the book, I don't know if you'd be able to tell that it was lightning that struck the tree.
+ interesting accents! Several people had what I think is a northern drawl--in any case, they sounded like Thornton's mother in North and South and it was pretty interesting to hear what were noticeably (to American ears) regional accents.
+ I want those grounds.
+ As lovely as this film (and its costumes) was, I would love to see an adaptation that was set when the text is actually supposed to take place and not when it was being written. In the book, St. John gives Jane a copy of "Marmion" which is said to be "new" and was published in 1808. It would be really interesting--and sort of weird, actually, to see a Regency-era Jane Eyre.
+ Michael Fassbender looks nothing like the Rochester in my head, but I don't find him particularly attractive, so it was okay.
+ Mia Wasikowska was too tall for Jane, but her coloring is more like the Jane in my head than any other Jane I've seen (though I picture her with grey eyes). She was mostly very good, and I think she did the sort of wild/elfin independence thing very well (I'm tired, forgive my clunky turns of phrase). Her massive piles of braids bothered me, though. The only bit where I really didn't like her was during her speech under the chestnut tree, but her reactions to what Rochester was saying were so good that I forgave her.
+ everyone looked very young. I imagine that was probably more true to the book, but it was a bit odd to see. Holly Grainger is, as always, adorable.
+ there was no Ferndean! what's up with that? I understand that they had to cut out a lot (and it made a nice tie to have Rochester where he was) but it was still sort of sad.
+ I had a really hard time telling what season they were in. I imagine they shot it all in a few weeks/months, and then tried to do various things to make it look like more time was passing, but the light was wrong and the plants were wrong and it was all very confusing.
+ it felt sort of weird that they took almost all of the religious themes out. I think that made it easier to focus on Jane herself that way, and it did very well, but Jane Eyre without a strong religious sentiment as reason for why she makes the decisions that she does is a bit odd.
+ the chestnut tree was hilariously cgi'd. And if you hadn't read the book, I don't know if you'd be able to tell that it was lightning that struck the tree.
+ interesting accents! Several people had what I think is a northern drawl--in any case, they sounded like Thornton's mother in North and South and it was pretty interesting to hear what were noticeably (to American ears) regional accents.
+ I want those grounds.
+ As lovely as this film (and its costumes) was, I would love to see an adaptation that was set when the text is actually supposed to take place and not when it was being written. In the book, St. John gives Jane a copy of "Marmion" which is said to be "new" and was published in 1808. It would be really interesting--and sort of weird, actually, to see a Regency-era Jane Eyre.