JANE EYRE

RYAN: I was so sad to miss the screening of Jane Eyre. I love this story, and I love the star, Mia Wasikowska. Please tell me it was good.

CAROLINE: It’s definitely good; but good in the way a Masterpiece Theater movie is good.

RYAN: OK… so it feels like a TV movie?

CAROLINE: Kind of. But mostly I’m just saying it’s not a must see on the big screen. It does have a lot of things going for it though; most of which is the fabulous story. I love this book!

RYAN: Is the movie true to the novel?

CAROLINE: In plot, yes; but they play with the time frame a little bit. They flash back and forward and you’re not exactly sure what’s happening till the end.

RYAN: Ooh, I like that! You know I love it when they force you to figure out what’s going on. How’s Mia W?

CAROLINE: She’s very good. I kept trying to figure out how hard it was for her as an Australian to do a British accent.

RYAN: Cate Blanchett has it down.

CAROLINE: Indeed. But Mia’s very good. They make her very plain and almost homely in this, as the role requires. I wasn’t entirely convinced of her attraction to Rochester though, who’s played by Michael Fassbender. By the end, I bought it, but I didn’t really see their initial lust and I would have liked that to be portrayed better.

RYAN: Is he hot?

CAROLINE: Eh. He’s chiseled and dark and brooding, but I didn’t find him exceptionally handsome. Maybe that was part of the problem.

RYAN: How are Dame Judi Dench and Jamie Bell?

CAROLINE: Dame Judi is always so good. It was funny to see her in this subservient kind of role though; she plays Rochester’s housekeeper. I’m used to seeing her lately as regal or as a badass in a James Bond movie. And Jamie Bell doesn’t have a huge role, but I honestly didn’t even recognize him till the end. He’s got these giant sideburns that I suppose are in keeping with the period.

RYAN: So was it as creepy as we hoped it would be?

CAROLINE: They definitely captured the eeriness of Thornfield Manor and its secrets. There a few creepy scenes, which I appreciated. And I liked all the scenes of Jane’s tortured childhood. I was never bored during the movie, but it’s definitely slow. Like I said, it feels like a high quality TV movie you’d watch on a Sunday night.

— BOTTOM LINE —

CAROLINE: This movie has a great cast, though I hoped for better chemistry between Jane and Rochester. It’s very pretty to look at, and has great costumes, etc. I was entertained by the great story, but the movie didn’t particularly blow me away. Let’s just say I liked it but didn’t love it.

— RATING —