I’ve been watching the 1983 Jane Eyre TV miniseries, made by the BBC. It’s quite different from the Jane Eyre 
movie that came out earlier this year, and not just because of the obvious budget and technology differences. The luxury of time (eleven half-hour episodes = 5.5 hours vs the movie’s 2 hours) meant that a lot of the scenes cut from the movie could be left in. So the miniseries characters are a lot more engaging and interesting, because they’re given a chance to actually develop a personality.
Not that this always works to their advantage…the extra screen time for Rochester simply serves to hammer in the point that he’s a bitter, selfish jerk. Timothy Dalton does an amazing job with the role, though; he looked, sounded and acted just as I always imagined Rochester did when I first read the novel. (Some might argue that Dalton was too good-looking for the role, but I always rather suspected that Rochester must have been better looking than Jane Eyre gave him credit, simply because why else would a teenage girl be so hot for him?)
Zelah Clarke is the actress playing the title character, and I’m not sure what I think of her. She’s too old, *much* too old for the role, and that does bother me. But on the other hand, her face has that plain but somewhat ethereal quality that I expect in the character. So it’s a toss-up, I guess.
Funny, I thought I’d have a lot to say about this. I guess that after dedicating 5+ hours to watching it, I ought to have something to say beyond, “It’s a good, solid telling of the story”. But I don’t. Oh well.
Not that this always works to their advantage…the extra screen time for Rochester simply serves to hammer in the point that he’s a bitter, selfish jerk. Timothy Dalton does an amazing job with the role, though; he looked, sounded and acted just as I always imagined Rochester did when I first read the novel. (Some might argue that Dalton was too good-looking for the role, but I always rather suspected that Rochester must have been better looking than Jane Eyre gave him credit, simply because why else would a teenage girl be so hot for him?)
Zelah Clarke is the actress playing the title character, and I’m not sure what I think of her. She’s too old, *much* too old for the role, and that does bother me. But on the other hand, her face has that plain but somewhat ethereal quality that I expect in the character. So it’s a toss-up, I guess.
Funny, I thought I’d have a lot to say about this. I guess that after dedicating 5+ hours to watching it, I ought to have something to say beyond, “It’s a good, solid telling of the story”. But I don’t. Oh well.
be a laughing jackass!
