I have a love/hate relationship when it comes to film adaptations of books. ""Jane Eyre"" is one of my favorite novels and I was skeptical when I heard yet another novel I loved was hitting the big screen. My curiosity did get the best of me, however, and Sunday afternoon I found myself at the Sundance Cinemas. Ticket in hand, I took my seat and prepared myself for the inevitable ruining of yet another classic.
I could not have been more mistaken.
Director Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic is breathtaking. Winner of the 2009 Dramatic Directing Award at Sundance for ""Sin Nombre,"" Funkunaga delivers in this follow up, working with a top-notch screenplay that enables the film to embrace all of the gothic beauty of the original text. The interior scenes are shadowy, the edges often blurred, allowing the mystery of the story and aura of the old house to crowd each frame. The effect is intensified by the way in which the camera often tracks the candles as characters wander the dark house. The landscapes in the north of England are everything they need to be: picturesque and haunting.
The film follows the novel's plot superbly, and although necessity requires much of Jane's inner monologue and character development to be left out, the film lacks nothing in conveying her as strong and independent. Her story is told uniquely, beginning with her flight from Thornfield and told through flashbacks while she recuperates at the home of the Rivers. I often find flashback-driven narratives distracting, but this adaptation was so richly and adeptly woven together that it actually adds depth to Jane's character instead of detracting from it and keeps the movie from being about Jane staring despondently out windows.
Worries about plot aside, the film's casting leaves nothing to be desired. Mia Wasikowska (Tim Burton's ""Alice in Wonderland"") is everything I ever imagined Jane would be as she gives to the film the innocence and intelligence required for the role. Her looks are severely stifled in order to become the literally plain Jane, but her open, fawn-colored eyes work wonders to express the longing and emotion of the title character. Opposite our heroine is the famed Edward Rochester portrayed by Michael Fassbender (""Inglorious Bastards""). He does a stunning job in this epic Byronic-hero role, executing Rochester's extreme highs and plummeting lows with immense power and passion, matched only by Jane herself (and far outstripping the similar attempts of a certain Quidditch-playing vampire). My only critiques of the pair are this: At times, Australian-born Wasikowska nearly slips into a Scottish brogue instead of a proper English accent, but it's still plausible considering the more northern setting. As for Fassbender, there is only one fault: his eyes are a grey-blue, not dark and brooding as I always pictured. I suppose that is merely a vanity on my part.
The supporting cast is equally delightful: Judi Dench (do I really NEED to name any titles here?) is uncharacteristically cast as a mild-tempered housekeeper, but she is convincing. Amelia Clarkson shows a marked resemblance to Wasikowska and delivers a demure yet fiery version of young Jane just perfectly. Jamie Bell (""Billy Elliot"") is splendid as St. John Rivers, and his slight frame and light coloring contrast well against the larger-than-life figure of Rochester.
I am so glad that my fear of novel-butchering did not keep me from watching this blissfully-wrought version of ""Jane Eyre,"" and although it's currently only a limited release, this should become the version without any of my former hesitation in seeing it.
