Plot summary

Jane Eyre (Anna Paquin and Charlotte Gainsbourg), orphaned, is left to live under the charity of her Aunt Reed (Fiona Shaw). After living ten years of mistreatment and segregation in her Aunt's home, she is then sent to Lowood - a boarding school for young girls. Jane grows up both physically and mentally at Lowood and becomes a teacher at the age of eighteen. She then advertises for the position of a governess and is called upon by Mrs. Fairfax (Dame Joan Plowright) at Thornfield. At Thornfield, Jane falls in love with the master, Mr. Rochester (William Hurt), and he with her. However, he yields a terrible and dark secret that threatens to tear them apart for good.—Emily