Jane Eyre

Wednesday evening I had the privilege of attending an advanced screening for the new Jane Eyre.

It was such a fun evening, even apart from the film.

But for anyone who cared, I thought I'd share my opinion of the movie.

Jane Eyre directed by Cary Fukunaga, based on the novel by Charlotte Bronte

Starring Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, and Dame Judi Dench

Music composed by Dario Marianelli

Synopsis: A mousy governess who softens the heart of her employer soon discovers that he's hiding a terrible secret.

I thought the movie was worth seeing, especially for someone who has read the book. I absolutely loved certain parts of it. However, while I was expecting that the film would not (and could not) live up to the book, I was still disappointed by what they chose to cut--which included my favorite lines.

The first two-thirds or so was very well done. But the last part of the movie was so compressed and the ending so choppy that it almost ruined the story.

I must say that I didn't realize until after the fact that the movie was rated PG-13. This made things make a lot more sense and I think I would have been better prepared if I had paid attention to the rating. The movie was extremely intense at times. Due to the way it is filmed, my friends and I definitely jumped; and at one point, I couldn't help covering my eyes.

Not only was the film visually intense--as they graphically showed the abuse Jane suffered in her early life--but it was just as emotionally intense as they played up the supernatural fears of the heroine. Keeping with the sense of the novel, which came out of the original gothic tradition, the movie, at times, feels very dark.

That being said, Mia Wasikowska played a near-flawless Jane. That was one of the things I was most worried about. Would Jane be pretty when she was supposed to be plain? Would she show too much or too little emotion? Would she convincingly show the struggle between conviction and feeling? She was absolutely fabulous. They were able to make her plain while letting her subtle and inner beauty make its full display. The emotion and the struggle was acted so well, I only wish they would have given the story more time to allow this to develop.

Michael Fassbender's Mr. Rochester was another superb, true-to-the-novel character. He definitely captured both Rochester's humor and his emotional neediness. The film successfully captured the chemistry between the two--although, I thought, they should have given it more screen time. Despite liking the way Fassbender played his character, I could not help being repelled by how selfish and--at times--creepy he was. This is also part of the novel, but was definitely a focus for these filmmakers.

The supporting cast were just as marvelous. The brilliant Jamie Bell was a convincing St. John Rivers (although, I found myself distracted by the fact that Jamie Bell and Mia Wasikowska played such a believable married couple in Defiance). Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper was, of course, played pitch-perfect by Dame Judi Dench.

Costumes, cinematography and effects all aided to the feel of this period drama.

I also must note how excited I was when I heard that Dario Marianelli was scoring this film, but half way through I noticed how little music there actually was. It was relieving in a way. The music was beautiful, but let the acting and dialogue speak for themselves as opposed to over-dramatizing everything. The music that is there sounded classical and haunting and both Beethoven and Mozart were incorporated into the film, again adding to the Victorian atmosphere.

Overall, the movie was enjoyable. But with the film coming in just under 2 hours (115 minutes), I left wishing they had added at least 15 more minutes and several other significant parts of the novel.