"Jane Eyre" 2/5 Pitchforks Rated PG-13 Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender
Charlotte Brontë's classic "Jane Eyre" has been brought back to theaters in an austere film adaptation, providing emotional and psychological access to those who have not been exposed to (or have not had enough of) the famous novel heroine. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga creates a stark, gothic tone that brings a surprising degree of sinister tension to the film.
Fukunaga fragments the narrative, introducing us to Jane (Mia Wasikowska) as a young woman running from undetermined peril. She is taken in by a young clergyman, St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell), and nurtured back to health by his sisters; from there, the scenes are a series of Jane’s flashbacks to her beginnings. The sequence of memories lend an importance to how Jane’s identity has been formed through a life of suffering — the malicious and ultimate abandonment by her aunt (Sally Hawkins) after her parent’s death; the kind beloved female friend who dies in Jane’s arms; the isolation of being a governess to a French orphan in a haunted estate; and finally, the encounters with the ominous and puzzling Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender).
The film’s dark and intriguing visual display passes up the vibrant show of most costume dramas. While the score by Dario Marianelli does its best to try to elevate the emotional content, the music’s frequent crescendo intensifies moments too often and unnecessarily.
Though nearly devoid of any emotion for most of the film, Wachikovska, of "The Kids Are All Right" and "Alice in Wonderland," delivers a passionate performance in a few critical moments. Her character’s emotional complexities as a young adult are discovered mostly in scenes in which she walks through fields, gazing intently and longingly at nothing. Towards the end of the film, Wachikovska aptly shows the figurative and literal sickness from the exposure and pain of having an open and broken heart.
There is a great disparity between the representation of Mr. Rochester on screen and in the book, which is personally disconcerting. Fassbender portrays the character as charming and smooth-talking, though sporadically aggressive and rude. Soon after he’s introduced to Jane, it does not take long before he’s smitten with her and proceeds to chase her. The way in which he reveals his feelings and desires so quickly draws away from the mysterious and brooding quality the novel character is so notorious for.
As a fanatic for the novel, I definitely appreciate that most of the dialogue is taken straight from Brontë’s text. The movie is somewhat able to evoke the anguish that comes with the dilemma of free will versus servitude and the subtly shaded, yet distressing, examination of what it really means to choose one’s own way. Due to the fast pace of the movie, these elements are not able to be developed. By not allotting the necessary amount of scenes and time to build restrained attraction, the tension and pining for the couple is not believable.
Overall, the foreboding visual effect of the film is unique and interesting. Though I have many complaints about the movie, I am moved by the depiction of love which, in its perfect state, is a meeting between equals.
Reach the reporter at mgrichar@asu.edu
