MovieChat Forums > Jane Eyre (2007) Discussion > Has there ever been a truly plain Jane?

Has there ever been a truly plain Jane?


Okay....this Jane Eyre is physically beautiful. When she first wakes up in Thornfield Hall, she kind of resembles Liv Tyler in some Elle magazine layout.

A great deal of the tension in the story seems to be about whether Jane will be noticed and rewarded for her admirable inner qualities, despite her colorless exterior. Without that aspect, half the story's missing.

But haven't all the Janes, from Joan Fontaine on, been fairly beautiful? The filmmakers always seem to think a center part, heavy-ish eyebrows and no lipstick magically erase an actress' beauty. But you can't kill bone structure....

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I suppose, the problem is twofold… First of all there are rarely any really plain actresses around (call it sexist or whatever) but looking plain and insignificant generally isn't a bonus in that line of work. 

And second, the series runs for almost four hours. If I'm induced to watch something for that length of time I rather do it by looking at someone physically pleasing - both male and female… I asume that others might think so, too. And come to that, Toby Stephens hasn't much physical resemblance with literary Rochester, either.

So, I think, they just made do with the fact that both actors don't strictly adhere to the common ideals for prettiness / good looks - and Ruth Wilson isn't a typical English Rose, after all - and leave it at that… 

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Good reply, birds. 

Although, if you go to Ruth's IMDb page, the poor girl has had to endure all sorts of insults about her appearance. I happen to think she's striking (with the most beautiful complexion).




If there aren't any skeletons in a man's closet, there's probably a Bertha in his attic.

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I happen to think she's striking

I think so too, supergran, even though she isn't a classical beauty. And she's particularly gorgeous with her hair down (as in that scene described by cookiela2001). I suppose that's meant to be a symbol for her underlying passionate nature - much in the way as in 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' where Griet's mass of wavy reddish-blonde hair is shown only that once with Vermeer aka Colin Firth in the background as 'Peeping Tom'.

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I want to see a plain Jane, and an ugly Rochester. If you want beautiful people in movies or tv before you can connect, I really fear for how you treat REAL people.

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Well, they tried to make her look plainer, and they did manage to set a contrast between her unconventional beauty and the more accessible looks of Christina Cole as Blanche, especially in the scene where Jane looks at the drawings of both.

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Well, personally I think that Samantha Morton wasn't particularly pretty... rather plain actually. Charlotte Gainsbourg wasn't very attractive either, at least in my opinion.
And Zelah Clarke, well, let's just say she resembles Jane, except for the age.

I guess that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, though! 😉



I'm a woman, I can be as contrary as I choose!

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I agree, haven't found any very attractive Joan Fontaine the best looking of the lot, think Zelah Clarke was the most like Jane in the book, plain and very petite, the latest Jane in the 2011 version was very plain too but again too tall!!

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the latest Jane in the 2011 version was very plain too but again too tall!!


Not to mention horribly acted.


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Not to mention horribly acted.


Indeed!

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I think Charotte is downright ugly. Bridget Fonda isn't plain, but they did make her plain in that version. She's also supposed to be short, but this Jane wasn't

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I think Charotte is downright ugly. Bridget Fonda isn't plain, but they did make her plain in that version. She's also supposed to be short, but this Jane wasn't

Not sure I follow you, westongardener. Which role of Bridget Fonda's do you mean?



If there aren't any skeletons in a man's closet, there's probably a Bertha in his attic.

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Charlotte Gainsbourg. I thought her a really plain Jane. I've recently watched the 2011 film, and I'm currently watching this series...these Jane are not plain, and I like them.
They are, however, not plain according to modern standard, they might have been plain in the Victorian era.


"Please, if you are trying to convert me, this isn't a good time"

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