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?
(*CHECK OUT WILLIE'S INTERVIEWS WITH MIA WASIKOWSKA, MICHAEL FASSBENDER AND CARY FUKUNAGA AT THE END OF THIS REVIEW*)
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.
3 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Jane Eyre is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements including a nude image and brief violent content.
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.
3 ½ Waffles (Out of 4)
Jane Eyre is rated PG-13 for some thematic elements including a nude image and brief violent content.
