‘Jane’: A moving study of a scientific pioneer
Logline: Young primatologist Jane Goodall’s legendary trip to Tanzania reveals chimpanzees and science at its finest. Verdict: Jane is a moving masterpiece, utterly and completely captivating. Using hundreds of hours of archive footage from 1965, the documentary paints a portrait of a young woman entering into a new realm of scientific discovery. What we see is humanity coming face to face, for the first time, with its evolutionary past, a symphony of the beauty of life and everything in it. We follow Jane Goodall, just 26 years old in this first expedition, destined for the Gombe forest in Tanzania to study chimpanzees. Her study is tentative at first, as the chimps flee whenever she draws near. But as the curtain unfurls, we see Jane realizing a childhood dream of living among animals. Without any university education, she is thrust into data analysis and chimpanzee observation. The original 1960s documentary used only a taste of the footage we see in Jane. It’s obviously a loving dedication to this very special time – not just in the scientific world, but in the Goodall’s personal life. It’s a love story, at the centre of it, with Goodall torn between work and family. The joyous score by Philip Glass (The Truman Show) helps creates a real sense of awe, though the documentary becomes overwhelming at times, especially in depicting violence. We admit to crying just a bit when the story took a turn for the tragic. Jane manages to evoke Goodall’s feelings of that time, observing chimps with nothing but hearsay to guide her. Sitting on river banks or in the thick of the forest, the chimpanzees, you soon learn, are brimming with life and personality. They’re a complete wonder to watch, and Jane gets across how momentous a discovery it was to find chimpanzees in their natural habitat, to observe their behavior being so similar to ours. The photography by Hugo van Lawick, Jane’s now late husband, extracts all the energy from chimpanzee life. The many closeups especially are stellar, every moment of humor and emotion perfectly rendered. The color restoration has clearly brought a cacophony of liveliness to the screen, but the sixties grain remaining on the print charms. The overall effect is living inside history, rather than viewing a pale representation. Director Brett Morgen (Cobain: Montage of Heck) has assembled a documentary which will surely reap success in the coming months. Jane is an incredibly well-realized story following one of the most remarkable scientists of our time. Dealing with issues of female representation, scientific scrutiny, and the almighty work-life balance, Jane darts across tones and subjects with a spring in its step. While certainly bringing the chimpanzees to life, it’s the central titular figure, Jane Goodall, who deserves the highest celebration. This vivid and incredible story is essential viewing, proving our study of evolution and primates would not be the same without her.
Jane Goodall’s Enduring Legacy After 2025
Jane Goodall’s passing on October 1, 2025, at age 91 during a U.S. speaking tour reframes the 2017 documentary as a preserved record of her earliest fieldwork. Tributes poured in from Prince Harry, Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the UN Secretary-General, each noting how the film captured the moment a young researcher altered humanity’s understanding of itself. The restored footage now functions as both scientific chronicle and personal time capsule, showing Goodall before global recognition arrived and before the institute that carries her name took shape. Viewers returning to the film after her death find the same awe the original reviewers described, now shaded by the knowledge that those tentative steps in Gombe launched a lifetime of advocacy.
Ongoing Impact of the Jane Goodall Institute
The Jane Goodall Institute’s 2026 programs keep the film’s themes alive in real time. The Roots & Shoots Youth Council continues recruiting students worldwide, while cross-border rescue operations have recently brought chimpanzees such as Lola from Equatorial Guinea into protected care. Gombe itself remains the longest-running wild chimpanzee study on record, with data collection uninterrupted since the 1960s. These efforts demonstrate that the observational methods Goodall refined under difficult conditions have scaled into sustained institutional work rather than remaining a singular expedition story.
The Film’s Awards and Critical Reception
Released in November 2017, Jane ultimately delivered on the acclaim the original review anticipated. It holds a 98 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 on Metacritic. The documentary won the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Documentary, the National Board of Review prize in the same category, and two Primetime Emmys. Multiple outlets listed it among the year’s strongest nonfiction films, citing the seamless integration of Philip Glass’s score with van Lawick’s restored imagery. The awards circuit confirmed what early viewers sensed: the film stood out for both technical restoration and emotional clarity.
Chimpanzee Research Continuity at Gombe
Long-term tracking at Gombe has produced specific, multi-decade biographies that extend the film’s portrait of individual personalities. Gremlin, born in 1970, remains under observation. Twins Golden and Glitter, born in 1998, represent the next generation whose behaviors researchers continue to log. Sparrow, estimated at sixty-three years old, ranks among the oldest documented wild chimpanzees. These named subjects illustrate how the patience Goodall practiced in the 1960s now supports generational data sets that primatologists still mine for insights into social structure, tool use, and longevity.
Personal Life and Family Balance updates note that Hugo van Lawick, the photographer whose footage anchors the film, died before 2025. Goodall later married Derek Bryceson, who passed in 1980. She is survived by son Hugo “Grub” van Lawick and three grandchildren. Film Production and Reception Outlook shifts from prediction to record: the November 2017 release achieved documented awards and widespread critical praise rather than future speculation. Scientific Discovery Context adds that Gombe research continues into 2026 with the same named individuals tracked across decades, linking the 1960s observations directly to present data collection.
The documentary’s strength remains its ability to place viewers inside the forest with a twenty-six-year-old researcher who had no formal credentials yet recorded discoveries that reshaped primatology. The restored color, the close-ups of tool use, and the quiet moments of recognition between observer and subject retain their power. With Goodall’s full life now complete, the film serves as both origin story and enduring tribute, reminding audiences that the study of chimpanzees in their habitat began with one determined woman and continues through the institute and research station that still bear her name.
