Jane Eyre (Amelia Clarkson) is a girl living in 19^th Century England whose parents died of typhus.  She is adopted by and lives with her uncle Mr. Reed at his residence in Gateshead…but he dies as well.  Mr. Reed’s wife Sarah (Sally Hawkins) and cousins John (Craig Roberts), Eliza (Freya Wilson), and Georgiana (Emily Haigh) treat her cruelly (especially John), and is eventually allowed to attend Lowood School for Girls.  Mr. Brocklehurst (Simon McBurney), the self-righteous clergyman who runs the school, treats her cruel as well…especially because she is so independent.  She becomes friends with another girl there named Helen Burns (Freya Parks) who unfortunately dies of consuption in Jane’s arms.  Eight years later…the housekeeper of Thornfield Hall, Alice Fairfax (Judi Dench), hires Jane (now played by Mia Wasikowska) to be the governess of Adèle Varens (Romy Settbon Moore), the French ward of Thornfield’s master, Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender.)  Rochester is a moody guy, but he starts to fall in love with Jane, despite being engaged to socialite Blanche Ingram (Imogen Poots.)  Through several different circumstances, Jane escapes Thornfield Hall and almost dies on the steps of clergyman St. John Rivers’ (Jamie Bell) residence.  St. John and his sisters Diana (Holliday Grainger) and Mary (Tamzin Merchant) nurse Jane back to health.  As she recuperates, she thinks back on her life and her relationship with Rochester.  The story is told in several flashbacks.  Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel has been adapted several times.  According to IMDb, the novel has been adapted at least 19 times beforehand on both TV and in theaters…the most famous adaptation being the 1944 version starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine.  While the acting is great and the scenery and costumes are good…I just felt it was a little boring.  According to what I researched, this novel is considered a “gothic novel.”  I always thought that gothic novels were horror, like Dracula…but I could be wrong.  The movie is director Cary Fukunaga’s second feature (his debut was the 2009 Mexican drama Sin Nombre.)  I’ve never seen his first movie, but from what I’ve heard, it’s a good R-rated movie.  It seems odd to make his next movie a PG-13-rated chick flick.  I wanted to see more of the interaction between Jane and St. John though (because I like Bell’s acting and Fassbender’s acting is a little overdramatic)…but I guess this is Jane and Rochester’s show.  If you are a fan of the novel or of costume melodramas, check it out.  As a guy who isn’t as interested in that stuff, I probably won’t watch it again.

1/2