ITV and A&E’s 1997 made-for-TV film adaptation of Jane Eyre celebrates two decades of dividing viewers this year. The film stars the very fine Ciarán Hinds as Mr. Rochester and the young, pre-Oscar nominated Samantha Morton as our beloved Jane. Gemma Jones is a mesmerizing delight as Mrs. Fairfax and steals every scene she is in. A youthful, too-pretty-for-his-breeches Rupert Penry-Jones makes a brief appearance as St. John Rivers.
And in my head, I make this little connection of how two Captain Wentworths end up in the same film, which is never a bad thing: Ciarán Hinds played Captain Wentworth in Persuasion two years prior in 1995, and Rupert Penry-Jones played the role a decade later in 2007, after he’d gotten a decade-worth of wear on that pretty face of his. But I digress.
Gemma Jones (left) as Mrs. Fairfax is a scene-stealer. Dare I say the best Mrs. Fairfax?!
At just under two hours, there is much that has been cast off. To condense a masterpiece of the English language into 108 minutes is a redacting feat. Much is gone, just gone.
Relationships that have hundreds of pages to build up can end up feeling rushed and curt in the visual representation. So, it goes. There is much to miss, much to hate, much to irritate, and even much to eventually appreciate and love about this fallible adaptation of Jane Eyre.
Bellowing, Bad Hair, and Baggy Breeches
Vocal loathers of this Jane Eyre adaptation tend to focus on one thing: Ciarán Hinds’ Rochester. This is a brooding, brusque, bitter, bellicose brute of a man who bellows and barks – that’s a lot of b’s. He commandeers, sports a bad ’stache, tromps around in baggy breeches, and shares one of the most awkward first kisses ever captured on film. Gone are the gentle flirtations and playful teasings. He’s not mopey and withdrawn; he’s mad and blustering.
That’s the knee-jerk reaction, and admittedly, that was my first reaction to this film. I did not like it; no, I did not like it one bit. But then, I saw it again and then again, and now my feelings are quite the opposite, to paraphrase Lizzie Bennett. Ciarán Hinds’ Rochester has grown on me very much so. There is much tenderness to be found there, much vulnerability.
There is a lovely scene after the marriage proposal of the evening before, where Jane is elated but unsure if she just dreamed it all up, if, in the cold light of day, Rochester will change his mind. She sees him and refers to him formally and properly as Mr. Rochester. He smiles and tells her to call him Edward and then looks at her, so lovingly, so tenderly, and says, “Mrs. Rochester.” It’s a lovely moment, one of many in this film.
Mr. Rochester waiting for Jane’s return from Gateshead after Mrs. Reed’s death. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the novel. Although this Mr. Rochester is perched on a parapet, not waiting at a stile. But there he is still, anxiously awaiting Jane’s arrival home…
The baggy breeches are still there and look comfortable, although not entirely flattering. The moustache is an acquired taste. The kiss is still awkward, gloriously so. I’ve come to really appreciate the open-mouthed ineptitude of Jane’s first kiss.
Hinds’ Rochester is at once mesmerizing and repulsive. There’s a raw magnetism there that is quite compelling. While certainly an attractive man, Hinds is not a conventionally beautiful man, so he arguably fits more readily in the book descriptions of Rochester than many of the hotties who have played Rochester on screen.
Samantha Morton gives a solid performance as Jane.
Samantha Morton is a porcelain-skinned beauty (and always the question – is she too beautiful to be plain Jane?) with piercing blue eyes, who portrays a very fine Jane, at times severe, demure, otherworldly, spunky. Morton is young in this adaptation, only nineteen or twenty when the film was made, so she is the “right” age for our youthful Jane.
Her youthfulness shines through, giving her Jane a very believable freshness and innocence. She narrates the film, and there are voiceovers throughout. I found this initially irritating, but it has grown on me. And Morton has a lovely, lovely voice, which is very feminine and lilting. Her Jane is a tad too enigmatic, spunky, and even self-righteously haughty at times, but I’ve also come to forgive that.
And speaking of voices, there is a lovely singing scene in this adaptation with Blanche Ingram and Mr. Rochester, and if that is really Ciarán Hinds singing – which it very may well be, since he did sing in Phantom of the Opera (2004) – then the man has a lovely set of pipes on him.
All in all, Jane Eyre from 1997 is a solid adaptation that needs time to percolate. It needs multiple viewings. And it grows on you, so the initial loathing might just turn to tolerable and eventually to likeable and maybe even to loveable with time. Give it a chance or two or three.
A lover of words, stories and storytellers since her youth and just plain curious by nature, Jessica embarked on a very long academic journey that took her across a continent (from Canada's west coast to its east) and even to the other side of the globe, where she currently lives an expat existence in Denmark. She now trails many fancy initials behind her name, if she ever cares to use them, and continues to be ever so curious. She's a folklorist, a mother, a wife, a middle child, a small town girl, a beekeeper, an occasional quilter, a jam-maker. She curates museum exhibits, gets involved in many cultural projects for this and that, collects oral histories when she can find the time and continues to love stories in all their many and varied forms. The local librarians all know her by name.
8 thoughts on “Jane Eyre (1997): Loathe It or Love It – An Adaptation that Grows on You”
Rupert Penry-Jones is in here? Might have to watch just for that reason 🙂
Very briefly, very briefly. There wasn’t a whole lot of time for all that convalescing stuff and teaching stuff and finding out that she’s an heiress stuff or even learning that they’re relatives stuff. They even dropped a sister, so there was just one Rivers sister…
I remember his St, John not being very…St. John-ey. He well…he emoted to much much for the infamously reserved and dour character. Overall I was kinda meh on this adaptation (Yes Stachy Rochester weirded me out. He seemed too much like a petulant child to me at times). I remember one scene I rather enjoyed in spite of myself. A new scene where Rochester takes Jane shopping post engagement and they run into Blanche and we get to see her taken down a peg. Not a very necessary scene, but oooooh it as satisfying XD
I was attracted by the same thing! Rupert Penry-Jones is a strong point in favour of this movie for me.
I love your writing style! Very nice review. I actually was not sure if I’d seen this adaptation before, but from your description I don’t believe I have, but I will try to catch it. It sounds like Ciaran covers one side of Mr. Rochester who is very brusque at times in the novel. I’m already not pleased that so much of the book is left out, but I’ll reserve judgement for now.
Thanks, Dixie-Ann (-: Be prepared to hate it at first, but it has seriously grown on me. I watched it twice as I was getting ready to write this review, and each time I saw something new and began to like it more and more. Rochester is not quite as bellowing as he first comes across….
This is the first adaptation of Jane Eyre that I watched and will always be my favorite. Even though so much is left out, I still find it perfect. The kiss is a little awkward, but I try to keep in mind that Jane had no experience and also that she had probably never even seen anyone kissing before. Great review, by the way. I enjoy your articles.
Thank you for the kind words, Melanie (-: And happy to find a fellow “liker” of this Jane Eyre. And I totally agree on the kiss — hadn’t really thought about her never having seen a kiss before, but you are totally right. She has lived a very cloistered life up to that point…
Rupert Penry-Jones is in here? Might have to watch just for that reason 🙂
Very briefly, very briefly. There wasn’t a whole lot of time for all that convalescing stuff and teaching stuff and finding out that she’s an heiress stuff or even learning that they’re relatives stuff. They even dropped a sister, so there was just one Rivers sister…
I remember his St, John not being very…St. John-ey. He well…he emoted to much much for the infamously reserved and dour character. Overall I was kinda meh on this adaptation (Yes Stachy Rochester weirded me out. He seemed too much like a petulant child to me at times). I remember one scene I rather enjoyed in spite of myself. A new scene where Rochester takes Jane shopping post engagement and they run into Blanche and we get to see her taken down a peg. Not a very necessary scene, but oooooh it as satisfying XD
I was attracted by the same thing! Rupert Penry-Jones is a strong point in favour of this movie for me.
I love your writing style! Very nice review. I actually was not sure if I’d seen this adaptation before, but from your description I don’t believe I have, but I will try to catch it. It sounds like Ciaran covers one side of Mr. Rochester who is very brusque at times in the novel. I’m already not pleased that so much of the book is left out, but I’ll reserve judgement for now.
Thanks, Dixie-Ann (-: Be prepared to hate it at first, but it has seriously grown on me. I watched it twice as I was getting ready to write this review, and each time I saw something new and began to like it more and more. Rochester is not quite as bellowing as he first comes across….
This is the first adaptation of Jane Eyre that I watched and will always be my favorite. Even though so much is left out, I still find it perfect. The kiss is a little awkward, but I try to keep in mind that Jane had no experience and also that she had probably never even seen anyone kissing before. Great review, by the way. I enjoy your articles.
Thank you for the kind words, Melanie (-: And happy to find a fellow “liker” of this Jane Eyre. And I totally agree on the kiss — hadn’t really thought about her never having seen a kiss before, but you are totally right. She has lived a very cloistered life up to that point…