AllMovie

Jane Eyre is a marvelous adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte classic. While it necessarily has to leave out portions of the novel, it does an excellent job of capturing its flavor, as screenwriters Robert Stevenson, John Houseman, and Aldous Huxley have been careful and judicious in selecting the most important elements to transfer to the screen. Stevenson's direction is among the best of his career, creating senses of atmosphere -- from the oppressive soul-breaking of the orphanage to the strangely beautiful terror of the moors -- that practically fly off the screen. He is greatly aided by George Barnes' expressive, evocative cinematography and Bernard Herrmann's haunting and emotional score. His biggest help, however, comes from stars Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine, both individually and together. Welles' is the more obviously impressive performance, possessed of an overpowering broodiness that masks his character's tortured soul. Calibrating his role with moments of great tenderness, Welles conveys the contradictions in Edward Rochester with ease. Fontaine's role is less flashy, but she brings a quiet conviction to the part that helps anchor the film; her Jane may not bluster and storm as Rochester, but she is every bit as powerful in her own way. Together, the two display a welcome chemistry without which the movie would fail.