Jane
Eyre
If you think Gossip Girl has the hottest drama you have ever
seen, you haven't seen Jane Eyre.
Mia Wasikowska stars as Jane - an orphan girl sent off to an evil
boarding school. Fed up with the atrocities, and knowing she should be
getting more out of life, Jane escapes and ends up living as the tutor
for a young girl in the English countryside. The girl's father,
Rochester (Michael Fassbender), is a bitter and stiff soul, but takes a
warming to Jane as she has the intellectual ability and strength not
many others display.
Is it true love between Jane and Rochester?
You might be trying to figure out what relevance a book written in the
1800's might have to a modern audience, but that timelessness is what
makes Jane Eyre so remarkable. Director Cary Fukunaga, writer
Moira Buffini (based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte) and Wasikowska
capture Jane's independent spirit in the face of immense personal and
social pressure. Underneath the dialogue and melodramatic plot twists,
the movie is about Jane's fight for her own soul.
Luckily, Wasikowska and Fassbender deliver the fight, the dialogue and
the melodramatic plot twists. Fassbender is saddled with a character
who, to put it bluntly, is a big jerk. He starts off at such an
extreme, the audience has to wonder how he can make the brusque man
into a romantic lead, but Fassbender takes us there small step by small
step without over doing it. He shows us how Rochester can have a rough
side and a lovey dovey side.
Meanwhile, Wasikowska shows some guts not many in Hollywood have. She
takes on a role where her character is called plain, ugly, and worse
for almost 2 hours, which is just fine here, since she brings out
Jane's fierce and determined personality traits in the face of people
who couldn't care less about her feelings.
Plus, I love the way Fukunaga captures the vast loneliness and
isolation the characters experience. Maybe Rochester is all hubba hubba
because there isn't another single guy within miles? Something to
ponder as you look at the sweeping horizons and acres of empty lots
(which look pretty cool).
Jane Eyre keeps a classic alive.
Jane Eyre is rated PG-13 for some thematic
elements including a nude image and brief violent content.
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