Jane Eyre 1944
I knew nothing about Jane Eyre and never even read the book. I bought a digital copy based on the 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the fact that it stars Orson Welles. The book is pretty big, so they definitely had to have left some things out for the movie. While I enjoyed it, I have a lot of issues with it. I feel like the director didn't do a great job with the material and it seemed a little rushed to tie everything up at the end. Orson Welles is still very good, a rich jerk who may or may not be a softie inside. Joan Fontaine in the title role has to express too much with a just sort of a pleading look. She falls for Welles way too easily, though she has led a sheltered life among people who are generally mean to her. As she enters the dark castle where only the staff seem to live and there are dark secrets in the tower, it feels a lot like Beauty and the Beast. The little girl she has been hired to care for is just awful. The director did a decent job with Eyre as a child including a friendship with another girl played by Elizabeth Taylor, but this one is too precocious and a little overly happy considering her life so far. It is never easy to make a movie that depends so much on child performances. Otherwise, the story moves along well and there are some twists and turns on the way in what otherwise seems to be playing out as a typical romance story. The movie works as family entertainment, but lacks much of an edge.
Written: 28 May 2025
Owned on: Digital