A message board and the National Trust talk about Jane Eyre

Like so many times before, our web counter has played the role of the perfect compass. Following a link from the C19 boards, we have come across with at least two greatly interesting threads over there. You will need to register in order to read the actual posts though. Many of the posters went to the screening at the BFI and have a lot to say about it, which adds nicely to what Laura told us here and here.

First of all, these are AnnetteG's impressions on the first two episodes, as well as some comments from the Q&A afterwards:

Sandy Welch has done a wonderful job with it - I thought it was an intelligent and imaginative adaptation. It has quite a Gothic feel. With four hours to tell the story, she doesn't have to rush things. The house-party is dealt with at length, and we also have time to see the developing relationship between Jane and Rochester in several conversations. And we're promised quite a bit of screen time devoted to Jane's stay with the Rivers family. Jane's childhood is dealt with fairly quickly, but it's done so well and so atmospherically that we get what it was all about without having too much detail. In the Q&A afterwards, Sandy said that the first episode was originally too long and had to be cut, so some Lowood scenes were lost. But the producer promised they'd be in the DVD as extras - one of them is the scene where Helen's hair is cut.

Ruth Wilson as Jane is superb - she has a very expressive face that shows emotions subtly but effectively. I found the scenes after the fire very touching and then heartbreaking - first as she realises that she is in love with Rochester and thinks he has feelings for her, and then as she finds out he's gone off to the Ingrams' the next day and is likely to marry Blanche. Sandy has included that wonderful scene where she draws a rough, monochrome self-portrait, and then a coloured portrait of what she imagines the beautiful Blanche Ingram to be like.

And I liked Toby Stephens more than I thought I would. He's not a favourite of mine but he gives a nicely layered performance and I'm looking forward to seeing how his character develops in the rest of the drama.

The Q&A afterwards was interesting - Sandy, Ruth Wilson, Susanna White (director) and Diederick Santer (producer) were there. Ruth Wilson spoke very intelligently (I couldn't help comparing her to the interview with Lucy Griffiths on the BBC Robin Hood site). I think she has quite a future.

AnnetteG goes on to describe this production as one of the best she has seen (and she seems to have seen a good many!). Millhand was there as well and also writes about it:

Sandy has a written a very Gothic adaptation, full of dark candle-lit corridors, rattling doorknobs and strange distant noises in the night. In places it's quite chilling. The location fits this perfectly (Haddon Hall in Derbyshire, complete with mysterious tower). There's a wonderfully imaginative opening sequence, and the style of filming is much more active and creative than in many period dramas, with some fast cuts and extreme closeups, and sequences on hand-held camera, like those we saw in 'North and South'.

I have nothing but praise for Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens as Rochester and Jane. I hadn't thought Toby Stephens an obvious choice for Rochester, but I think he's excellent, investing the character (who I've never really taken to in the novel) with a sense of humanity, despite his initial brusqueness. Ruth Wilson gives a wonderfully nuanced and subtle performance as Jane – she reminded me a little of Anna Maxwell Martin in ‘Bleak House’.

Some good news - we won't need to campaign for a DVD with this one. The Producer, Diedrick Santer, said that it probably won't be out before Christmas, but it will include some of the scenes that had to be cut due to pressure of time.

But the DVD already has a release date! 5 FEBRUARY 2007.

Thomasine was also lucky enough to be there:

I was certainly won over by Toby Stephens' Rochester and thought Sandy had really managed to convey her view of him as an essentially sympathetic man, something I struggle with from the book. Here he seems a tortured soul, but with great charm, and the relationship between him and Jane is very well delineated and has tremendous warmth. [...]

They have dropped the voice-overs and have been lucky enough to find an excellent young actress in Ruth Wilson who is able to convey Jane's thoughts and feelings most convincingly in her expressive face. In fact, during the Q & A session afterwards somebody remarked on how brilliantly Ruth Wilson had conveyed Jane's emotions and asked her how she did it. (Short answer - two years training at LAMDA! Long answer - support from her fellow actors, particularly Toby Stephens, a brilliant script from Sandy and excellent direction).

One more thing - the production has a very sumptuous feel and I've come away with a great sense of richness and colour, all of which help to convey the richness of Jane's inner life I feel.

Great news about the voice-overs! Many are wondering how they managed to convey Jane's feelings then. This is AnnetteG's intriguing answer:

The simple answer is - Ruth Wilson's face! She's very good at showing Jane's emotions. There's a small but telling detail in the scene where she's back in her room after saving Rochester from the fire. I don't know whose idea it was - probably Sandy's - but Ruth Wilson plays it beautifully.

RedQueen made it there as well:

I thought the adaptation was very very good and thoroughly enjoyed it. All the right ingredients: excellent cast (especially Ruth Wilson as Jane), very fine script, atmospheric music and extremely well chosen locations used to immaculate effect. [...]Toby Stephens does an excellent job as Rochester - it's a sympathetic interpretation and Sandy Welch has written some lengthy and enjoyable dialogue for Rochester and Jane so you can see why these two rather awkard-squad people fit together. Like Thomasine, I always find Rochester a cold fish in the book but Toby Stephens breathes considerable warmth and humanity into the part and Rochester's tender concern for Jane does subtly emerge and develop and you can see why they make a good couple.

Lily answers something we were all wondering - what is exactly is "the visionary John Eshton"'s role:

Mr. Eshton does appear, albeit briefly, as part of the house party. In this adaptation, his role is expanded and he helps to explore some of the other themes of the novel, away from the developing relationship between Jane and Rochester.

She also says they make a "beautiful use of colour".

But that's not all! Thanks to juicyfruit's scans we get a glimpse of the contents and pictures of the National Trust magazine. See picture for instance. There are three more pages that can be viewed on this link (compulsory registration).

A BIG thanks to the posters at the C19 Boards for their interesting insight into this production :)




Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Jane_Eyre