Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Rickting Jane Eyre is a great book and its themes are still relevant today. This is one of many, many film versions. This particular film is made for TV and aired in 1997. This hits and misses in almost equal measure. It gets the relationship between Jane and Mr Rochester fairly right, and the chemistry between them mirrors the novel. Some of the Gothic bits are frightening in a restrained way and Helen Burns is handled well too. It's fairly well acted, although whoever played Mr Rochester needs some anger management lessons. The script has some intelligence and translates some of the themes of the book, but not all. Bertha is mishandled, Mr Rochester overacts, Jane is not as strong as the character in the book, the first 10 chapters are rushed and the film fails to reach the emotional heights of the novel thanks to rushed writing. Seeing it aside from the novel, it's a decently written but blandly filmed drama movie which you may not remember you even saw. So, a mixed bag without a doubt. Overall.... I wouldn't bother.6/10

TheLittleSongbird I will aim to judge this Jane Eyre on its own terms, as no matter no poor it is as an adaptation it at least deserves that. Of the Jane Eyres I've seen, this one was my least favourite and the most disappointing(I've not yet seen the 2006 version). It is not as dull as Zeffirelli's film, but I found the 1973, 1983 and 1943 versions much better cast than this and the characters more interesting and the story much more passionate in the 1970 and 2011 films.Charlotte Bronte's novel is one of the outstanding works in literature ever, and because the story is so good and the character of Rochester so interesting it is wholly deserving of good treatment if not entire fidelity.This Jane Eyre is not a complete and utter travesty. It does look wonderful with gorgeous scenery, an evocative atmosphere though Thornfield could have been gloomier and beautifully tailored costumes. The music is good too if not as haunting and atmospheric as the 1970 and 1943 films. Of the cast, the best is Gemma Jones who is absolutely marvellous as Mrs Fairfax, one of the few characters in the adaptation that is given any degree of respect.However, the rest of the acting is disappointing. This is especially true in the case of Ciaron Hinds, whose Rochester is almost completely lacking in subtlety or complexity with no attention whatsoever to any possible nuances. Samantha Morton fares a little better, she has the delicacy of Jane to a pat and she is suitably plain, however I can't say she was any more than that because Jane is too bold and insubordinate here. Blanche, Brocklehurst and St John are also nowhere near as interesting. Blanche is nowhere near as haughty, more should have been done with the conflict between Jane and Brocklehurst and St John is too sympathetic.The direction is misguided also, not allowing the characters to be any more involving than they were. I think also that the direction was a big part of the problem with Hinds' performance, because Hinds was also in Persuasion and he was superb in that and that was because the direction and adaptation were great.Jane Eyre(1997) suffers from being too short, too rushed and too condensed. The book is a very difficult one to translate to screen, because the story and characters have so much to them and also the book is big. 2 hours in my opinion is not enough to do the story justice, at least a mini-series of about 11-12 episodes would do. Consequently, things were inevitably cut out, changed or condensed, and the things left in were not very well explored especially the attitudes of the times and characters' motivations such as Rochester's affection for Adele did not make sense.Pacing was too rushed for me, I think to make the passion believable the pace should be quite measured without being deathly slow. This adaptation suffered from moving the story on too quickly to suit the lean running time, which explains why there wasn't enough passion and chemistry between the leads and also the ending should have been much more grim and mysterious, the stilted writing stopped it from being any more than that.Speaking of the writing, that was possibly the adaptation's most disappointing asset. Everything is really stilted and updated, dialogue doesn't flow from one line to the next effectively and some unintentionally funny moments and jarring dialogue in terms of the period Jane Eyre is set in and the type of language used severely undermine the characters and their motivations. Rochester especially in the second half of the adaptation suffers from this.All in all, very disappointing, too rushed, too short, too condensed, too underdeveloped and too stilted. Thank goodness for the production values, music and Jones, the adaptation could've been worse otherwise. 4/10 Bethany Cox

drarthurwells Too short (overly abridged) and Ciaran Hinds' depiction of Rochester fails to show his periods of torment and dysphoric mood. These shortcomings are better overcome in the 2006 version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens, which perhaps remains as the best.However, this 1997 version is quite excellent in the acting accomplished by Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds, particularly in portraying their mutual declaration of their love for one another cumulating that had been long suppressed. As mentioned, the faults in their relationship presentation is with Rochester, as played by Hinds(and as restricted by the director and not Hinds). Rochester should be depicted as a man in turmoil, with periodic irritability and depression, because of the strain of his life (revealed in the last part of the movie). Rochester's immediate attraction to Jane, and his growing love of Jane over the time of their relationship, serves as much to exacerbate his conflict as it does to fulfill his longing for love. The 2006 version with Toby Stephens does a better job of this than the 1997 version with Hinds, but with better direction Hinds could have been the best at showing this conflict.Also, though Morton does a real good job of showing her deep and growing love for Rochester in the 1997 version, more so than any other version, Hinds is too restrained (again by the director) in showing his deep and growing love for Jane. Now some restraint here is needed, as sourced in in Rochester's secret underlying his conflict in loving Jane. This secret is the source of Rochester's conflict in restraining his love for Jane on the one hand and and declaring this love on the other. Hinds' displays this restraint, but only weakly hints at his underlying love for Jane, where the hints of his love should have been stronger and more definite. Again the director's fault and not Hinds'.Keep in mind that both Jane and Rochester are in conflict over their growing love - Jane because she feels she is inferior (a "plain Jane" as she describes herself, and of lower station to boot) and Rochester because of his "secret" that inhibits his love expression toward Jane. The conflict is shown equally well in both the 1997 and 2006 versions but as mentioned Hinds 1997 depiction is too inhibited in showing his love (except toward the end when it is magnificently displayed). If this 1997 version had been more completely developed at a more relaxed pace, like the 2006, 1903, and 1973 versions, and if Hinds had been allowed to show more turmoil and conflict in his developing love of Jane, while also more clearly and certainly showing signs of his developing love for Jane at times (to where the viewer would wonder why he doesn't just come out and declare his strong love for Jane, even though he doesn't for reasons explained later), this 1997 version could have been the best Jane Eyre yet. In some ways it is, but is still edged out by the 1983, 1973 (my favorite) and 2006 versions. Please see my reviews of five other versions of Jane Eyre.

mrwiseman While this is not the worse adaptation it did have its flaws which may keep the Jane Eyre fans cringing. Although shortened, I thought that the editing was reasonable. I didn't mind most the scenes they cut. I did find the updated dialogs annoying at times, because it often obscured the real motivations for the characters actions. I think that the writers of the screenplay were a bit uncomfortable with the religious undertones to Jane's goodness and for her leaving Edward. Now I think that Ms. Morton did not understand her character at all. She plays the scene where she first learns who Edward is in a very haughty way. She seems to think that Jane is some feminist archetype, bold and sassy...when in reality Jane, because of years of oppression at Lowood knew "her place" yet, was so good, she answered Edward's questions truthfully...even if her answers seemed bold. In a way Jane of the book was like a bird in a cage, it is only after finding that Edward wanted her to truly be free to be herself that she spoke more freely in his presence. He freed her...(not a popular modern outlook but the book was written some time ago). Jane only speaks up as the story progresses because of Edwards goading her, and her own desire to finally have a voice. Miss Morton also make some rather unusual facial expressions, she smiles when she hears she will meet the elusive Mr. Rochester...why?... just got yelled at by the man...why would she smile about the prospect of meeting him?Weird. It is like this "Jane" read the book and knew what was going to happen next.Yikes.Hind's Rochester at first felt spot on, moody...but then he just started yelling giving it a less than nuanced delivery. I would have fled, if I were Jane, because with all that yelling I would have been afraid of a man like that. I have seen him in the film "Persuasion" and found him wonderful...so perhaps direction was the problem.Another cloying aspect to this production is the general "lightness" of Thornfield. I guess I prefer a somewhat dark and gloomy place that hints at the horror that burdens Mr. Rochester...but on this note I will say this is a personal preference of mine. Others may find the scenery and set decoration more fitting and proper than previous versions.Did I hate this production? No. I think it does flow nicely. It has its high point in showing the passion. I also appreciate every telling of my favorite story. I do suggest that if you want to see a dark and mysterious version...try Orson Wells, or a more accurate version try the one with Timothy Dalton.