Jane Eyre

It must be a very popular item, for it took me a while to get hold of it from the library. And probably there was such rave reviews about its casting, I end up with a rather mixed feeling about it. Unlike numerous other adaptations, this 2011 version tells the story mainly with flashbacks, and also tries to bring an austere focus on the two leading characters by removing lots of minor details. There is also a striking gothic look to the film due to the audacious use of lighting. In this sense, the film breathes a fresh air to an beloved classic. The casting of Mia Wasikowaka as Jane is, as many observes, an inspired choice. Her relative young age and the unusual minimum make-up also makes her probably a lot closer to the character depicted in the book. What seems utterly shocking is there appears to be so little between Jane and Rochester to convince us that theirs is a true love that will draw Jane back to him after inheriting an unexpected fortune. And in addition, it is the first time that it dawns on me that Rochester is not only cold-hearted and cruel (he attacks nearly everybody around him), but we know literarily nothing about him: what he does while he is away, for example. This is rather weird: because while I can remember the dialogues between them, I cannot recall seeing him in such a light ever before. Is it my memory that is playing a trick on me or this particular adaptation has brought out those issues for the first time? Another shocking discovery was the film adaption whose soundtrack I remembered so well was actually made in 1970, not in the 1940s.