Customer Reviews
Move over Darcy and Rhett! - By: Sue Lewendon, 08 Sep 2008 
I am absolutely addicted to this version of Jane Eyre, having watched it another 4 times this last week alone! And I'm not ashamed to admit it either! It's perfectin every way & there's nothing left out of importance. O.K. it could have done with showing more of the young Jane at Lowood Institution, but it wasn't a necessity.
This tells the story of Jane Eyre, a poor, downtrodden girl who after becoming an orphan as a baby, is sent to live with her Aunt & Uncle & their children. The Uncle passes away & Jane is left to the cruelty of her Aunt & cousins. After 10 years of bad treatment, her Aunt sends her to Lowood School & turns her back on Jane. Jane stays at Lowood for eight years when she finally manages to escape by advertising for a job as Governess. Off she trots to Thornfield to care for & teach Adele.
The master of the house, (Mr Rochester), is always away from home, & very rarely stays more than a few days at a time. But this soon changes when he meets Jane. Their relationship blossoms but alwaysin an unspoken way. Mr Rochester is a moody, brooding man & one can never tell what mood he'll bein from one day til the next. He harbours a dark secret, one which could ruin his relationship with Jane, as well as his many admirers & friends.
Toby Stephens & Ruth Wilson who play the leads are perfectly cast & you can really believe their love story is real. The chemistry is simply sizzling! The best scenes are when Rochester confesses his love for Jane under the tree & proposes, & when he is trying to get Jane to run away with him to his villa, & also when Jane finally goes back to him after being separated from him. Oh, who am I kidding, I love EVERY scene they'rein together!
The rest of the cast are fantastic too. Adele is sweet as is Mrs Fairfax the house keeper. Miss Ingram & her mother are perfect too, they are pure nastiness & houghty with it. The sets are beautiful as are the costumes. It brought the book to life just as I had imagined it when I read it.
This is truly an amazing version & my 1983 copy with Timothy Dalton is nowin second place! Do yourself a favour & buy it, especially if you have a loved one who adores romances. I will be getting many more pleasurable viewings out of my copy, that's for sure!
Very good version of a great book - By: LJM, 31 Aug 2008 
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this version of Jane Eyre. I'm quite picky over TV productions of my favourite books - for example, I'm no great fan of the Firth/Ehle P&P (an almost sacreligious version,in my opinion) - but this production of JE, I feel, has got very close to the essence of the novel. A bit over-blown at times, but then so is JE! It was given a noughties' treatment, without destroying the overall feel of the novel. The chemistry between Ruth Wilson & Toby Stephens built beautifully. And a good, solid supporting cast, full of reliable regulars.
I've given it 4 not 5 stars, however, because of a couple of reservations: I thought the Jane/St John relationship, so importantin the book, could have been handled much better thereby improving the overall production. Their final encounter, when she almost agrees to marry him then hears Rochester's supernatural 'Jane' x 3 (and what happened to her impassioned response???), is one of the best bits of the novel. And why the Cape & not India? Also, why was Blanche Ingram a blue-eyed blonde? Rochester's choice of Blanche as his 'false' bride is significant (and cruel, both to Jane & also Blanche, despite the latter's character), as physically she must remind him of Bertha. I think Charlotte Bronte intended her reader to recognise the shared moral emptiness of Blanche & Bertha partly through their similaritiesin appearance. Oh, well, that's the lit crit out of the way! Mind you, how could anyone accuse Toby Stephens of not being handsome?
I remember the Jayston/Cussack version with great affection. I may buy both then compare.
mills and broonte - By: disturbedchinchilla, 27 Aug 2008 
She stared into Mr Rochester's black opal eyes & marvelled, he barely looked half his forty years & golly, what a charming manner & a way with children he had, despite what contemporary literature had lead her to believe. As she fell into his manful embrace, large chunks of her life story fell away too, who needs all that bildungsroman stuff when what josephine public is really interestedin is bursting bodices? Even Mr St John Rivers now seemed to be an alright chap, even if he was a bit of a stickin the mud, all that supposed terrifying Evangelical bullying faded like so many eccles cakes into the ether.
This might have bothered Jane, after all, she allegedly had a mind like a 'lighted heath' - but no, she'd clearly been at the valium because she'd gone all quiet & mild & even discovering Mrs R. upin the loft with the squirrels merely prompted a nice little stroll outin the peak district, rather than three days of starvation & spiritual upheaval, quaking beneath God's well-impressive omnipotent sky...
'jane jane jane' said Rochester, without moving his lips, which was cleverly explained by the screenwriter through an extended burble about twins that Ms. Bronte had forgot to putin her original book. Indeed, let's have a scene with an ouija board while we're at it.
Tish & pish, the naysayers said - tis TV, & reet entertaining like, tha's got to change sum bits as t'original novel is dense with symbolism & unconvincing cross-dressing - &in all fairness, it's an ok way to pass a rainy sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, we could hardly wait for the forthcoming adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights'in which Heathcliff becomes a sherry-drinking philanthropist, & everyone holds hands & skips......
Could be better - By: A. Hudson, 08 Jul 2008 This adaptation of the book is good, however it does deviate from the plot a lotin my opinion. For example the entire period from the break down of the wedding to the end of the book is encompassedin only 1 hour & should have had more time spent on it. Important details are also left out of that final episode, for example Jane searching the village for somewhere to live & eat before stumbling across the Rivers household where she is rejected & then taken in. Additionally the beginning of the program with Jane as an infant living with her Aunt before she goes to school is about 2 minutes long whenin reality it should be longer.
Allin all, however it does make the plot of the story clear & is enjoyable.
Brilliant ! - By: Lulu, 04 Jul 2008 I love the classics, & this version of Jane Eyre is stunning,in my opinion anyway.
It was an afternoon well-spent, watching this series with my teen daughter. Since there is so many reviews done of JE, I'm not going to give one.
I liked the casting of Ruth Wilson & Toby Stephens as Jane & Rochester. They did a great job of portraying the characters & the chemistry between them alone keeps you riveted to your screen.
Yes, I know Toby Stephens is far too handsome for this role but he captures Rochester's abrasive & mercurial temperament superbly. He is a tortured soul. You can sense his vulnerability & loneliness quite keenly at times.
I enjoyed his interaction with Jane,in whom he sensed a kindered spirit. You can feel his passion, simmering just beneath the surface. He wants Jane badly but must keep her at arms length, (because of a dark secret revealed later on) & his frustrationin failing to do so is so tangible.
Ruth Wilson was perfect as Jane. Her passion & zest for life just simmers beneath her sombre & reserve exterior. Despite her harsh childhood she grows up sweet & kind.
She's takes one look at Rochester & falls for him. She sees through his abrasive manner, sees his inner pain & is captured by his wit, humour & vulnerability. She practically glows when she's with him.
Her absolute love for Rochester makes you feel her pain when things fall apart.
This is one series I know I will be watching repeatedly as it's a definite keeper, with its gorgeous outdoor scenery, wonderful costumes & perfect casting.
My only gripe is, I wished they had sub-titled this series. I hated missing even one word of dialogue!
