Review of Jane Eyre

Watching 'Jane Eyre' is like watching two films. The first part seems so far removed from what follows and is easily the best part of the movie. We see a young Jane (Peggy Ann Garner) being placed by her cruel aunt in an orphanage run by wicked Mr. Brocklehurst (Henry Daniell at his most chilling). One of her schoolmates is a very young Elizabeth Taylor as Helen Burns, long dark curls and eyelashes revealing her to be very beautiful, even at an early age. And the wonderful John Sutton is the doctor who witnesses the brutal treatment of the girls at the school. All of this is conveyed in a brooding series of scenes, lit with low-key lighting and many atmospheric effects backed by Bernard Herrmann's moody background score. The second part of the story involving the mature Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) is less successful in keeping with the richness of detail shown earlier. Furthermore, Joan Fontaine is never fully convincing as the plain governness, demure and docile to an irritating degree. She plays the role so weakly that she is completely dominated by Orson Welles--overacting to the nth degree as Mr. Rochester--and the story is sent reeling off course to an unsatisfying conclusion. The structure of the film is so offset by the impressive first half-hour that the second part seems artificial by comparison. Excellent black and white photography cannot conceal the artificiality of the sets. All of the supporting performances are well acted. As usual, Agnes Moorehead does an outstanding job. Summing up: a nice try but not quite the film it should have been considering its source was a classic novel. And by the way, Joan Fontaine was not nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for this one as someone previously stated.