Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre opens in Toronto on Friday, March 18th. It expands to other cities across Canada and the U.S. on March 25th and April 1st.


Much like any book or play that has been deemed "a classic," Jane Eyre is particularly tough source material to nail down. The story is very well known, but can be played out in different ways. The story contains a key plot twist that can very easily catch a viewer off guard if they are unfamiliar with the material and how the film plays hinges almost entirely upon how this twist is conveyed. Everyone from Robert Stevenson to Delbert Mann to Franco Zeffirelli to countless television miniseries creators have had a go at this tale of a young woman orphan who finds shelter in her darkest hour at the estate of the mysterious Mr. Rochester. People have been trying to make the definitive version of Jane Eyre on screen since as early as 1910. Some are as short as 10 minutes and some are as long as seven hours.

But if you are reading this, you probably already know what the film is about and you did not come here for a half assed history lesson from a blogger who normally talks about things like The Garbage Pail Kids Movie. Much like the audience that flocks to a grindhouse style film, Jane Eyre caters to a certain type of film goer. All you want to know at this point is if the film is good and if it captures the source material in an adequate and tasteful manner. Having seen several versions of Jane Eyre previously and having read the Bronte novel 3 times (never once for pleasure, mind you) I can say that director Cary Joji Fukunaga has created one of the best versions of Jane Eyre to be seen on the big screen. Is it entirely necessary or does it have anything new to add that hasn't been covered on radio, television, or film before? No, not really. But Fukunaga's Eyre does have a tone all it's own and as a result it might be the easiest adaptation of the material to sit through.

Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right) delivers the best performance of her young career as the titular plain Jane; fully embodying Jane with all the warmth, innocence and mousy mannerisms that the character has in the novel. These are all key for the plot of the film to actually work. Michael Fassbender (who seems to have finally found his way out of genre fare for the time being) is, quite possibly next to Orson Welles the best actor to ever portray Rochester. He relishes every word that comes out of his mouth and he knows very well that he will have to show just how capable he is of acting unspeakably cruel at times and still make the audience feel something for him. Together they make the heavy sexual overtones of Bronte's work come to glorious life. Great supporting performances also come from Sally Hawkins as young Jane's cruel aunt and from the always capable Judi Dench, playing the housekeeper role as impartial and grounded as possible.

Fukunaga shows a clear love for the material in every frame of the film and he directs everything with a sure hand and a sense of conviction. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman has also managed to lens the best looking film of the year thus far. The color, and sometimes the lack of color, simply pops and the film is gorgeous to look at. Moira Buffini's screenplay, however, is the film's only stumbling block; adapting an already worn out use of flashing back and forward does nothing to really help the story and some key plot elements from the story have been jettisoned while other inconsequential moments have been added back in. These added moments that are often forgotten about and use of a different style of plot structure than previous versions does nothing to really add or detract from the film in any way, which brings us back to my opening question.


Upon leaving the theatre I wondered if what I just watched was really all that necessary. At first I was tempted to write the film off as just another competent adaptation of a book that has been filmed well over 30 times and played out on radio and stage in almost 100 different variations. I eventually became at ease with my liking of Jane Eyre. It was very well made and I was actually entertained by how it all came together despite knowing everything that was going to happen. I was always going to give it a favorable review, but after having sat on it for a couple of days, it deserves the extra half a star.


Rating (out of four stars): ***1/2