Jane Eyre (Anna Paquin) is an orphan living with her dead uncle Mr. Reed's family. His wife and kids are cruel to her. Mrs. Reed sends her to the Lowood Institution under the harsh Mr. Brocklehurst. She befriends Helen Burns who dies from neglect and sickness. Years later, Jane Eyre (Charlotte Gainsbourg) leaves her dead friend and her mentor Miss Temple to be the governess to French orphan Adèle Varens at at Thornfield Hall. Mrs. Fairfax (Joan Plowright) is the housekeeper and Edward Rochester (William Hurt) is the master. Strange things are happening in the estate. Her aunt dies after confessing her sins to Jane. Blanche Ingram (Elle Macpherson) arrives to be courted by Rochester.
Paquin's Jane doesn't really match Gainsbourg's Jane. Paquin is playing a defiant rebel. She's Joan of Arc. Gainsbourg is a wallflower. I really like Paquin but she may not be doing the character right. At the very least, these are almost opposite characters. Nevertheless, the story is compelling and the romance is romantic. Franco Zeffirelli's directing is beautiful. The Charlotte Brontë novel is a romantic epic and this movie delivers that.
Paquin's Jane doesn't really match Gainsbourg's Jane. Paquin is playing a defiant rebel. She's Joan of Arc. Gainsbourg is a wallflower. I really like Paquin but she may not be doing the character right. At the very least, these are almost opposite characters. Nevertheless, the story is compelling and the romance is romantic. Franco Zeffirelli's directing is beautiful. The Charlotte Brontë novel is a romantic epic and this movie delivers that.