Jane Eyre

Director: Cary Fukanaga

Writers: Moira Buffini, Charlotte Bronte

Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender
Release Date: March 18, 2011
Length: 1 hour 55 minutes

Director Cary Fukanaga takes on yet another adaptation of Jane Eyre. You may be thinking “seriously?” How many times has this book been put on the small and big screen? There can’t possibly be anything different about this one. Wrong. The film tells the tale of eighteen-year-old Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska), a girl who at the start of the film has just found refuge in home occupied by two sisters and a brother in the English Countryside. With flashbacks of how Jane got here, we discover Jane lived in the estate of her malevolent aunt, Mrs. Reed (Sally Hawkins) until they sent her away to an all girls’ boarding school, where she suffered the death of a friend and constant physical abuse from her teachers. She then became a governess to a young French girl at Thornfield Manor, where she becomes a friend with the elderly housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench). Then, Jane meets the feared owner of the estate, the arrogant and handsome Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender). We all know how the celebrated romance story goes on from there. In a way to make this film unique from the rest of adaptations, Fukanaga brought out the “gothic” element of the gothic novel. The film was in now way turned into a horror movie, but there were creepy themes brought out of the story to distinguish it from others. The old mansion created an eerie setting for much of the film as well as scenes filmed during the evening with Jane in this unknown place. The sub-plot of Mr. Rochester’s mental ex-wife also added a sense of uneasiness among the residents of Thornfield Manor. Fukanaga creates a dark ambiance for the entire film including the romantic happy moments of Jane and Mr. Rochester’s romance. With cinematography, scoring, sets and specific visual effects, Fukanaga incredibly invents a new extraordinary kind of Jane Eyre that no one has seen before. One of the best things he does as a director is pick a phenomenal cast. Breakout Australian actress Mia Wasikowska of Alice in Wonderland as well as the Academy Award Winning film, The Kids Are All Right delivers one of the greatest performances in years as the young heroine of Charlotte Bronte’s gothic novel. She carries the entire film with such ease and strength at the same time. Wasikowska took on a role played by at least thirty women on screen, and completely made it her own. She took the audience on an incredibly close and personal journey by exposing Jane’s inner tumult without being theatrical. Every quiet flicker of the eyes and everything about this performance was captivating and proves her to be one of the best actresses of her generation and our time. Wasikowsa shared an indestructible chemistry with British actor Michael Fassbender. Together, the pair created a unique, almost interpreted Rochester-Eyre relationship while not straying too far from Bronte’s original writing. These two actors added such beauty and severity to this famous romance, it made the film truly heartrending. Fassbender previously made an unforgettable appearance with a small role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds that proved for only a few minutes what an incredible actor he is. The legendary Mr. Rochester is supposed to be nearing forty and most actors who have played him are usually older than that. Fassbender was only 32 when playing him, so he added much esteem and mystery to his performance. He perfectly achieves getting Mr. Rochester across to the audience with his direct stare and strong yet revealing personality, while having a soft love for Jane that somehow fits perfectly into this hard character. With a growing career for both actors straight ahead of them, everyone can look back and remember when they brought us into one of the most powerful stories ever told on screen. The rest of the cast was fantastic including Jamie Bell as the stubborn young man who has Jane staying at his house, while he is greatly attracted to her. Sally Hawkins is wonderfully mean and despicable in her performance as Jane’s aunt who sent her away on unfair reasons. Judi Dench is, of course, terrific as the kind and pitied housekeeper of the mansion. One of the best performances in the film came from Amelia Clarkson, as the tough and tormented young Jane Eyre. This is one of the best, if not the best adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte classic and is by far one of the best films of the year. You are guaranteed to fall deeply in love with Jane Eyre.