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A review by nglofile
Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna
2.0
This could have been so much more. Fortunately, the artwork, both color story and style, offers some value.
I've learned to temper expectations in regards to contemporary retellings, but why take a heroine with complexity, integrity, and specifically unremarkable appearance and transform her into a Barbie-with-tragic-backstory? It completely undermines the story's credibility - and that is true even if not contrasted with inspiration Jane Eyre. Both Jane and Rochester are the shallowest versions of themselves, and neither is allowed the arc that makes each iconic. Supporting characters are the worst kind of stereotypes, and the re-imagined climactic scene is (and I don't use this word lightly) ridiculous. All this from a screenwriter and producer whose work I've found witty and incisive, so the letdown is significant.
As noted above, illustrator Ramón Pérez improves the story with evocative visuals and thoughtful play with line, color, and paneling. I might even be tempted to forgive the cookie-cutter attractiveness of pixie-dreamgirl Jane because he gives her journey some shading in the depiction of different circumstances and emotions. I recognize the pop-art vibe referenced in specific moments - and I get that cartoon-like illustration is a signature - but for me the most compelling scene work was the intense interplay of reds and siennas shadowed heavily with black to show figures illuminated only by a large fire in the hearth. More of that, please.
I've learned to temper expectations in regards to contemporary retellings, but why take a heroine with complexity, integrity, and specifically unremarkable appearance and transform her into a Barbie-with-tragic-backstory? It completely undermines the story's credibility - and that is true even if not contrasted with inspiration Jane Eyre. Both Jane and Rochester are the shallowest versions of themselves, and neither is allowed the arc that makes each iconic. Supporting characters are the worst kind of stereotypes, and the re-imagined climactic scene is (and I don't use this word lightly) ridiculous. All this from a screenwriter and producer whose work I've found witty and incisive, so the letdown is significant.
As noted above, illustrator Ramón Pérez improves the story with evocative visuals and thoughtful play with line, color, and paneling. I might even be tempted to forgive the cookie-cutter attractiveness of pixie-dreamgirl Jane because he gives her journey some shading in the depiction of different circumstances and emotions. I recognize the pop-art vibe referenced in specific moments - and I get that cartoon-like illustration is a signature - but for me the most compelling scene work was the intense interplay of reds and siennas shadowed heavily with black to show figures illuminated only by a large fire in the hearth. More of that, please.