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This 1997 adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's much-loved novel was scripted by
Kay Mellor, then best known for the boldly contemporary popular drama Band of
Gold (ITV, 1995-96); Jane Eyre, her 'favourite novel', has been her one foray
into period drama during a career spanning over 20 years. While it's
possible that Mellor's northern background attracted her (the novel's setting is
assumed to be Yorkshire, like much of Mellor's work), it's just as likely that
she was chosen for her penchant for strong female characters and female-centred
stories, and her ability to make the story relevant to a modern audience.
Mellor's influence on the production extended to her suggesting her Band of Gold
star Samantha Morton as the lead, and she herself plays a small role.
Mellor employs soap conventions to heighten the novel's gothic and melodramatic elements, thus much of the screen time is split between Jane and Mr Rochester's emotive conversations and the fear and suspense
generated by the strange woman in the attic. The two-hour running time
inevitably condenses the plot, and Jane's pre-Thornfield Hall existence (11
chapters) is reduced to ten minutes, while two significant sub-plots have been
excised, perhaps to avoid overstretching the audiences' incredulity. Thus we
lose the doubtful coincidence of Jane accidentally stumbling across her only
living relatives in the shape of St John and Diana (in this adaptation they are
not Jane's relations).
More regrettably, we lose all reference to Jane's rich, Jamaica-residing
uncle, who just happens to know Mr Mason and warns him about the upcoming
nuptials, and who later leaves his fortune to Jane. Though the prospect of
Jane's independence would have seemed vital to Charlotte Brontë (who was, like
Jane, a clergyman's daughter and governess), Mellor perhaps felt that Jane's
becoming Rochester's financial and social equal would be irrelevant to modern
audiences.
The key focus of the adaptation is the way Rochester and Jane become
emotionally rather than socially worthy of one another. Following romantic novel
and film convention, Mellor increases the conflict in the couple's first
meetings to increase the dramatic impact when their mutual dislike turns to
love. She also uses the novel's jealousy themes to create suspense: while Jane's
feelings are made explicit through a voiceover (conveying the novel's
first-person narrative), Ciarán Hinds' fierce interpretation of Rochester means
that his feelings remain an enigma for much of the film, increasing the
audience's pleasure in their eventual revelation.
Louise Watson
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1. Meeting Mr Rochester (3:44)
