Jane Eyre

This is the third version of the Bronte novel which I have seen, the others being a TV serialisation and the other the Orson Welles version. I enjoyed the former and the less said about the latter the better! This,for me, is far and away the best.The photography is top-notch and, as an avid lover of silent movies the preference for the visual over the oral puts this film high up on my favourites list. Top marks to all cast members and a bonus point for the divine Judi Dench (I have been a fan of hers since seeing her at Stratford in about 1970). To fit the whole novel into a two hour format is no mean feat, but here it is done so well that those who have read the original can supply the missing sections from their memory, while there is enough left in for the non-initiate to enjoy the tale as it stands.

Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) runs away from Thornfield Hall and finds shelter with St John Rivers (Jamie Bell), and his sisters Diana (Holliday Grainger) and Mary (Tamzin Merchant). As an orphan child, she was mistreated by her aunt Mrs Reed (Sally Hawkins) and her son. She was sent to Lowood School for Girls ruled by the cruel Mr Brocklehurst and branded as a liar by Mrs Reed. She leaves the school to be a governess for French orphan Adèle Varens at Thornfield. Mrs Fairfax (Judi Dench) is the housekeeper. Edward Fairfax Rochester (Michael Fassbender) is the often absent owner.

Cary Fukunaga brings a haunting cinematic brutal beauty to this Charlotte Brontë classic. The script has been stripped down to the needed scope. Mia Wasikowska has her sense of fragile determination. The acting is impeccable. This is less a costume romance and more a Gothic theater. It is really a painting of mood and deep feeling.

I've seen JANE EYRE in many versions, holding the Susannah York/George C. Scott edition on a special pedestal, but this new atmospheric adaptation proves to be worthwhile. It should introduce a new audience to the classic tale.

After scoring in the title role in Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, Aussie thesp Mia Wasikowska is compelling with a plain Jane styling here again as title character, with her story told effectively in flashback, starting with her escape from the Gothic mansion of Rochester (Michael Fassbender), getting a school marm's gig from sympathetic young pastor "Sin-jin" (St. John, played by Mr. BILLY ELLIOT himself, Jamie Bell).

Her "tale of woe", as Rochester mockingly describes it before even hearing a word, is the familiar Charlotte Bronte yarn -suffering a scary childhood at the hands of such ogres as Mrs. Reed (Sally Hawkins, in her least giggly role to date -very effective). Years at a school for castoff girls, where corporal punishment is de rigeur, merely season Jane for life's hard knocks.

The romantic sweep of her dealings with Rochester are well portrayed, and director Cary Joji Fukunaga makes terrific use of the stark locations, shot in painterly fashion. The visuals alone make this remake worthwhile, backed by the BBC but definitely not a "Masterpiece Theatre" small-screen effort like the recent re-dos of all of Jane Austen.

The big reveal regarding Rochester's "secret" is well-done, though I was a bit disappointed that the hindsight of two versions of Jean Rhys' prequel WIDE SARGASSO SEA was not taken into account here. I guess screenwriter Moira Buffini adhered to a more purist approach.

Fassbender has already suffered casting criticism as being too good looking, but his acting carries the day -combining the right amount of sinister to temper the matinée idol veneer. After all, Jane is going to fall for him eventually. I still prefer Scott or Orson Welles in the role -tough competition indeed.

Besides the principals, Dame Judi Dench is solid as a rock as Rochester's housekeeper, giving it her always-A-game approach and adding nuance to what could be merely a stock role.

I saw a sneak preview of Jane Eyre last night at AFI/Silver in Silver Spring MD. This is a beautifully filmed, engrossing, and haunting version of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre. This film is worth seeing and it will leave you thinking about it long after you have left the theater. It captures that otherworldly and isolated environment that Jane inhabits in her lonely life. After you witness the unloved childhood and brutal boarding school you can understand how Jane can not only adapt to her isolated employment but revel in a world where the absence of abuse is a relief. One thing that struck me was the way the actress portraying Jane Eyre, Mia Wasikowska, inhabited Jane's being. The quiet stillness, the dignity, the steely nerves under the mask of composure. I have been trying to recall another actress who portrayed the physicality of a woman, a governess, in that time period so perfectly. She wasn't a modern actress in a corset, she moved like a young woman who is used to the corset and layers of cloth, and the expectations on a young woman in Victorian England. I also particularly enjoyed the portrayal of a vibrant, intelligent, woman who knows she is caged by the norms of her society and her position in it. Miss Wasikowska did a wonderful portrayal of Jane, giving her great depth while still letting the emotions flit across her usually stoic face. I also liked Mrs Reed - she is a wholly human villain, petty, cruel, insecure, and resentful. You can see her in Miss Ingram, a petty woman who could turn hateful. The young Jane is a stand out performance, all spit and fury, you realize that Jane's survival is due to her courage. That the intensity of the child is coiled inside the adult Jane. The cinematography is beautiful, the sets and costumes look accurate, the screenplay handled well, and the directing outstanding. I also appreciate that no character was over done. This film will age well, where some other versions can make you cringe now. This film is going to make me pick up the novel and read it again after a very long time. Not a bad recommendation for a movie.

BBC again. We expect perfect costume, perfect sideburns, perfect landscape and most of all we expect perfect acting. We find it all here, but usually such productions are out of this world. Here something is added. The Gothic element.

Much has been said about movie adaptments of novels. But here the actors are allowed to say what they feel. It's not rationalized away. And it's still a movie, not some filmed text.

That makes this a very impressive version of "Jane Eyre". A dream, interrupted by living people who can put their feelings in words. Most satisfying.