Intrigued by Samantha Morton’s brilliant cameo as Circe in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, I dug out the 1997 ITV adaptation of Jane Eyre on DVD, in which she plays Jane. What struck me was how self-contained and understated her performance was. She conveys emotion and thought with little more than a look or half-smile, rather than relying on lengthy explanations. The film is less romanticised than some I’ve seen and, especially in the first half, has a real sense of suspense. Like all adaptations, it has its strengths and weaknesses, and at only 108 minutes, inevitably had to leave out substantial parts of the novel, but I still think it is a good version and well worth watching for Morton’s performance if you can find it on YouTube.
