Jane Eyre

Wooden performances. No chemistry between the two main characters. They seemed icky together. And both were horribly boring. She should've married the reverend when she first met him. They seemed better suited. Or maybe Jamie Bell's just a more convincing actor.

Wooden performances. No chemistry between the two main characters. They seemed icky together. And both were horribly boring. She should've married the reverend when she first met him. They seemed to be better suited. Or maybe Jamie Bell's just a more convincing actor.

I mostly saw this for Michael Fassbender, and to my surprise I didn't like him in this all that much. I think he perhaps overacted too many times, and that's seen even more in comparison to Wasikowska, who gives a truly natural, nuanced and subtle performance. I've never read the novel and I wasn't familiar with any of this at all, and period pieces usually aren't my thing anyways so this was solid. It was wonderfully done though, but the story at its core isn't terribly interesting to me. But Wasikowska definitely shows she has some acting chops, and that's what I had already suspected before watching this. So yeah, this is definitely solid enough.

I must confess that I saw Jane Eyre at an outdoor screen and it was very windy which probably isn't the ideal environment to watch this type of movie. The film is obviously based on the book by Charlotte Bronty and follows the difficult life of Jane Eyre as she is brought up in the 19th century. The story has obviously been dramatised numerous times in the past. The lead actors Mia Wasikowska (Eyre) and Michael Fassbender (Rochester) certainly put in good performances, but I was never really engaged in the film. This may well have something to do with the environment which made it difficult too hear the dialogue so I will watch it again on the small screen to see whether this makes a difference.

I wonder if the higher reviews are from people who have never read the book, or seen other adaptations. This movie did not capture 1/10 of what was possible, with this story. The actors are clearly capable, but have the limits and boundaries of the direction and screenplay and of time restrictions. Although I appreciated the cinematoghraphy, (and the score was wonderful) it was like the rest of the film, went in a direction that when it came together just lacked the HEART of the story and of the other adaptations. The Quality and Intent was there....but in the end,it just fizzled for me.