A very charming adaption of the classic book. Beautifully shot (if you're familiar with Franco Zeffirelli's Romeo & Juliet, you'll have a good idea of the look of this film. Simple, dark in places, whimsical and beautiful in others. Look out for a great shot of the house framed by the fantastic colours of the autumnal woodland of the surrounding area. That is Zeffirelli at his best.) William Hurt is simply perfect as Mr Rochester, (and actually extremely sexy in a slightly strange way..) Both Anna Paquin and Charlotte Gainsbourg turn in great performances as the young and slightly older Jane respectively. The film overall is quite heartwrenching (actually more so than I remember the book being) and very elegant in style. The cinematography is very complimentary to the tale. The only complaint I might have is how quickly it ends. It seemed to wrap up quite suddenly in the space of about 5 minutes at the end. What happened there? Budget run out? (Either that or the editor wanted to get home early..)
Overall though, a very good film. Kudos to Franco Zeffirelli and William Hurt particularly.
Overall though, a very good film. Kudos to Franco Zeffirelli and William Hurt particularly.