A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.
Fukunaga does a great job in making the action and emotions feel modern without updating the story to the present day.
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.
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.
So much of this Jane Eyre is flawless.
Vivid, compelling and at times properly scary, Jane Eyre is actually not rubbish at all.
This adaptation is balanced, crafted, beautifully acted, though for me without the thunderclap and lightning-bolt of passion.
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.
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.
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.
Respectable, but under-powered.
This latest version brings no dramatic new angle or ideological emphasis to the story, just precision of design, nuance of mood, and excellent casting.
Surely Charlotte Brontë's best-known novel was more exciting than this film that, while pretty and wellacted, is a right old slog.
What is surprising is how vigorous and alive it feels.
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.
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.
Script, direction and acting combine to give the film a directness that matches that of its righteous and no-nonsense heroine.
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.
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.
Jane Eyre on screen: a potted history
General release. Check local listings for show times.