#1997 deserves a fairer treatment than what it usually gets

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Reverse unpopular opinion: Jane Eyre adaptations

This one is easier, because there's so much I actually like about different Jane Eyre adaptations! They truly are a sort of kaleidoscope of the book and its readings.

1973 has an excellent Rochester, and includes many favorite details that are often overlooked, like Abbot's garter, Blache being a brunette, and the apothecary that suggests the idea of Jane going to school. It also has a great Miss Temple and Helen Burns.

1983 has an excellent St John Rivers. Andrew Bicknell and Zelah Clarke (Jane) play off each other beautifully.

Watching 1996 opened my eyes to the themes of mercy and Providence (and has the most amazing score). It's the one that gets the closest, IMO, to Jane's severe exterior hiding her passionate heart.

1997 does a feat of covering so much of the book in so little time, and has some severely underrated photography -the scene of the sunrise at Milcotte Hill? the top notch work required from everyone, director, photographer, actors, editors, to pull it off and make the sequence look right? Jane walking through the stormy moors at dusk? it doesn't get credit enough for it. It's also Beauty and the Beast! It has the "letter to Pilot" bit! and the ending scene shows the caliber of Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton as actors.

2006... is well beloved for a reason, because it so captures the essence, the vibes of what people usually like about the novel. It explores the moods of the story, and gives us a very sympathetic version of both Jane and Rochester.

2011... honestly... the concept of two people, one in virtue and one in vice and yet both experience the heaviness of existence, the ennui that is only lifted when they are together... and showing it rather than telling it... including the uneasiness and surreality of the courtship, in contrast with the peace and rest of the reunion... there's merit in that, and poetry.

Send me a topic, and I will have to only say positive things about it, give a reverse unpopular opinion.