Guess what? Â I just found out that there is a new movie version of “Jane Eyre” coming out in March. Â Happy happy happy Ginny!
It has a British cast, thankfully (not to be a snob, but that’s always a plus if you’re adapting a classic of English literature) and it looks, from the above preview, to be quite good.  I’m getting a positive vibe about it, and believe you me — I’m picky about my Jane Eyres.  It’s my favorite novel from way way back — from college, at least, when I identified so powerfully with the title character — and I like to see it done justice.  The 2006 Masterpiece Theatre production was pretty good, the best I’ve seen so far — though there is room for improvement, and I hope this new version delivers.  At the very least, I hope it does what no other version has ever managed to do, and that is to get the character of St. John Rivers right.  (Frankly, I find him the most chilling person in the entire novel — he makes the vampire wife seem like a desirable dinner companion.)  Most movie screenwriters spend approximately ten minutes on the entire St. John section, which is, like, a third of the novel. How do they do it and still respect themselves in the morning?  Beats me.
But anyhow! Â March 11 is the opening date. Â I’d better start lining up a sitter and cajoling my husband to go with me. Â A movie without explosions is not exactly his first choice, especially since we see approximately 1.5 movies a year, but he may make an exception. Â And there is a big destructive fire/attempted rescue at the end of the story, not to mention some knife-and-biting action on the part of the crazy wife — that may make up for the crinolines and bonnets.
P.S.  If you are a Brontë-nerd like me, check out this old post for some Jane Eyre  eye candy.
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