Jane Eyre 2011 enters into its second weekend (IV)

Rotten Tomatoes: 81 % Fresh ( 7.3/10 / 67 reviews: 54 fresh, 13 rotten  |  Audience: 77 % like it. 3.5/5 11,548 ratings)
Metameter: 77 out 100 (based on 30 critics)
IMDB:  7.7/10 (329 ratings)
New York Times: 4/5 (65 votes)

Box Office Mojo: (March 17, 2011)

Total Lifetime Grosses

Domestic:

$253,105

Domestic Summary

Opening Weekend:	$182,885
(#27 rank, 4 theaters, $45,721 average)
% of Total Gross:	72.3%

Widest Release:

26 theaters

In Release:

7 days / 1 weeks

Some new reviews:

Mostly Negative:

KPBS:

"Jane Eyre" provides a solid and compelling tale of a young girl maturing into a confident woman and living her life according to her ideals and strong moral values. Unfortunately, it's rare for a filmmaker to find a way to bring the story to life so that it doesn't feel like an English Lit class lesson. Fukunaga falls into this same trap.(...)
Jane Eyre is like having oatmeal for breakfast - it's good for you but rather plain and unexciting. (Beth Accomando)

Larsen on Film (3 stars):

This Jane Eyre has no identity as its own film. There are hints that director Cary Fukunaga is going to emphasize the spookiness of the tale - he favors misty, dank landscapes - yet he neglects countless opportunities along these lines, including that image I'm thinking of: Jane's dress being set ablaze by the mysterious denizen of Rochester's mansion.

The Eagle-Tribune:

Yet while I compliment this film, the praise is scarce. I watched "Jane Eyre" with nothing more than an adequate amount of involvedness and level of appreciation for what I was viewing. The credits began, I shrugged, end of story. Here is a film that can only be described as "fine," powered by a rich narrative, solid performances, and reputable direction, but with a lasting factor that is all but invisible. "Jane Eyre" is successful, but in the most ordinary fashion possible. (Greg Vallante)

Nevertheless, Teens Don't Know Movies, Fr. Dennis at the Movies, Pure Film Creative and You May Say I'm a Dreamer like the film.

The promotional interviews continue to crop up:

Mia Wasikowska on The Philadelphia Inquirer:

'You can only breathe so much in corsets," says Mia Wasikowska, who was required to wear such an apparatus, along with various bell-shaped skirts, flounced petticoats, and tight little bonnets, as she assayed the title role in the new and beautifully miserable Jane Eyre.
"It restricts your voice and your breath, and it's really symbolic of the repression of the day," she observes. "That's very much what that time represented for women - physical repression that becomes mental. Oh, it's crazy." (Steven Rea)

Mia and Cary Fukunaga on The Loyola Phoenix:

Fukunaga tried to avoid having a cliché ending.
“I decided to keep it more romantic,” he said. “I wanted their first coming back together to be not all about words but to be about touch. I didn’t want to do some big orchestral song and have the camera crane away from the tree with a big happy ending. It’s not Pride and Prejudice.” (Demetra Koris)

Both on the Chicago Sun-Times:

“Before I read the book, I thought Jane was an adult,” Wasikowska said. “Then I realized she was just 18, but her expectations and the things she’s taking on are so adult. And there’s this restlessness she feels about being trapped and not knowing if she can go beyond what’s expected of her in that society. I would imagine myself in that situation and how frustrating that would be.” (Mary Houlihan)

More mentions: Stars go blue (in French).
 
Finally, there is a petition online asking for a DVD release of the director's cut of the film.

We the undersigned would like to show our support for a Director's Cut DVD release of Cary Fukunaga's 2011 film, Jane Eyre. This gorgeous production suffered from a number of plot holes due to scenes that were filmed and appeared in the trailer and other promotional material, but were cut from the theatrical release. We are certain that a DVD in which these scenes were incorporated back into the film would deliver a superior viewing experience, and make this Jane Eyre the definitive screen adaptation.

As the director said on The Portland Phoenix:

It's very difficult to get a 500-page book into two hours. Were you given the option of, say, two and a half?
Fukunaga: I think, it's so hard to say how long it should be, it's not until you have it all together.
But this felt right to you?
Fukunaga: Well, for me as a director, I would be more indulgent and put more stuff in there. But for an audience, you have to take something different into account. When you screen for people, you get a sense of whether the pacing's working or not. I think this is probably just the right length. I don't think you want to go any shorter than this.
Well, no. I was wondering whether you didn't want to go longer.
Fukunaga: We did look at various cuts. I think my director's cut was around 2:30 or something. But there is a right pace for every story, sort of like a vibration. (Jeffrey Gantz)

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV