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Jane Eyre (PG)

Drama, Romance

A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.


The critical consensus

Fukunaga does a great job in making the action and emotions feel modern without updating the story to the present day.

****(*)Kaleem Aftab, The List, 19/08/2011

A bold choice of director, striking visuals and a Rochester to rival Orson Welles’ ensures this doesn’t feel like just one more highbrow period piece or stodgy great-book adap.

***(*)(*)Neil Smith, Total Film, 30/08/2011

There’s no question it’s stunningly mounted, and Wasikowska makes a much stronger Jane than Alice, but the romance is overripe and the climax underdone.

***(*)(*)Ian Nathan, Empire Online, 05/09/2011

So much of this Jane Eyre is flawless.

*****Antonia Quirke, Financial Times, 08/09/2011

Vivid, compelling and at times properly scary, Jane Eyre is actually not rubbish at all.

Matt Bochenski, Little White Lies, 08/09/2011

This adaptation is balanced, crafted, beautifully acted, though for me without the thunderclap and lightning-bolt of passion.

***(*)(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 08/09/2011

Those craving gloomy stairways and thunderclap atmospherics might not come away completely sated, but Fukunaga’s delicate artistry leaves it hard to ask for much more.

****(*)Tim Robey, The Telegraph, 08/09/2011

I doubt anyone's going to fall in love with this version but it's a commendable addition to the canon that does a good job of condensing the story.

***(*)(*)Daily Express, 08/09/2011

Charlotte Bronte’s story of governess Jane Eyre and her tumultuous relationship with her employer Mr Rochester is brought to the screen for the umpteenth time...with reasonable success.

Paul Greenwood, Evening Times, 08/09/2011

Respectable, but under-powered.

**(*)(*)(*)Chris Tookey, Daily Mail, 08/09/2011

This latest version brings no dramatic new angle or ideological emphasis to the story, just precision of design, nuance of mood, and excellent casting.

****(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 09/09/2011

Surely Charlotte Brontë's best-known novel was more exciting than this film that, while pretty and wellacted, is a right old slog.

***(*)(*)Daily Record, 09/09/2011

What is surprising is how vigorous and alive it feels.

****(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 10/09/2011

Its director, Cary Joji Fukunaga, keeps the atmosphere subdued enough to ensure that what could be a lurid melodrama is always dignified, and ultimately more powerful than most period romances, for all their wet shirts and festive weddings. But it could probably have done with just a flicker more fire.

Nicholas Barber, The Independent on Sunday, 11/09/2011

This Jane Eyre is a good-looking film, serious, thought through and well acted. Yet it ends up rather shallow, lacking the cinematic intensity of the Orson Welles version, though that was widely patronised and sneered at in its day. Some would argue that only a five-hour TV mini-series could do justice to the tone, detail and character development of Brontë's triple-decker Victorian novel, and I think they're probably right.

Philip French, The Observer, 11/09/2011

Script, direction and acting combine to give the film a directness that matches that of its righteous and no-nonsense heroine.

Steven Vass, Sunday Herald, 11/09/2011

Really, this is what the film leads with: a humble dignity, which instead of being confused with undercooked passion, is an affirmation of the text’s place amongst such highly regarded, classical works of literature.

****(*)Andrew, TV Bomb, 15/09/2011

All told, this film will rank highly among Jane Eyre adaptations. Its sensitive re-telling of the story, superlative acting and pictorial delights make for a visually arresting experience.

****(*)Alexandre Johnston, The Journal, 05/10/2011


Features about Jane Eyre (PG)

Jane Eyre on screen: a potted history

Eve Stebbing, The Guardian, 08/09/2011

Jane Eyre (PG)

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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