Jane Eyre (2006)

Jane Eyre Masterpiece TheatreThis is at least the fifth adaptation of Jane Eyre that I have seen. In 2005, I saw almost every major JE adaptation including the BBC version with Samantha Morton and Ciarin Hinds, the 1940s Orson Welles version, the 1983 TV version with Timothy Dalton, and the Franco Zeffirelli version with William Hurt. The only other notable JE adaptations I have not seen are the 1973 TV version and the 1970 film version. Clearly, I love the book. Before watching this Masterpiece Theatre version, one of my favourite versions was the 1983 Timothy Dalton TV version. Yes, he is too conventionally handsome to be Mr Rochester, and the production values were practically nil, but my goodness was he good in it. He made it for me. I’m delighted to say that I love this Masterpiece version even more because it had good acting, better production values, and I found the adapted screenplay had just the right length. They cut just enough, and added the details to Jane and Mr Rochester’s relationship that I often felt lacking in other adaptations. I only remembered after that Toby Stephens was the Bond villain in Die Another Day, and he was Duke Orisno in Twelfth Night. I also completely forgot that his mother is Dame Maggie Smith. There are only fifty actors in Britain, and they tend to be related and star in Doctor Who or Harry Potter movies. I found it hard to remember TS’s roles because he was very much the part. He and Ruth Wilson had great chemistry, and it was romantic enough that I didn’t roll my eyes (though, I don’t think I would for this story). Wilson could be too pretty to be called plain, and she bears a striking resemblance to a friend of mine especially with her hair down. All in all, a very good adaptation, but I’ve come to expect good things from Masterpiece Theatre.

4 thoughts on “Jane Eyre (2006)

  • Kelly

    I don’t know why but I just could never get around Jane and I usually love period novels. I didn’t know about this newest adaptation.

    Reply
  • Athena (Post author)

    Kelly – The funny thing is that I tried reading JE the first time when I was 15, and I couldn’t get past the first 10 pages because I was annoyed with it. When I read tried it again a couple years ago, I loved it. Funny how things work like that.

    Reply
  • dew

    Your Stumble Upon button in your little group of buttons doesn’t work. My husband figured out how to fix that (it wasn’t working for me or my friend Cara, either) so if you care about it and want to fix it, email me! 🙂

    Reply

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