Jane Eyre

Directed by Cary Fukunga

Written by Charlotte Bronte and Moira Buffina

With Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell

From the very start of the latest film version of Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 “Jane Eyre,” you almost physically feel the foreboding misty moors of the Derbyshire Hills. This is a Jane Eyre unlike any other, and there have been as  been many as 30 earlier film versions.

Director Cary Fukunga and screenwriter Moira Buffina have fooled with the chronology of the novel, and their Jane Eyre begins in the middle. The past is seen as flashbacks. Purists might not appreciate this conceit but it works perfectly well in this “Jane.”

Jane (Mia Wasikowska) is a plain and polite orphan who has lived a life of deprivation and loss. After her parents’ deaths she is sent to live with her wealthy but cold-blooded aunt, Miss Reed (Sally Hawkins). Miss Reed wants only to get Jane out of her sight. So off she is sent to the sadistic Lowood School for Girls where corporal punishment is the norm. Of course, Jane is treated cruelly and unfairly, but she does learn to be a teacher.

Finally a bit of luck comes Jane’s way. She is hired to be the governess for the French-speaking daughter of the wealthy Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender).

Her residence is now a massive and elegantly furnished medieval estate of countless rooms. The housekeeper, Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench), keeps everything in order. She is a kindly sort, always rushing here and there. Jane is treated well in her new situation and her darling charge is very attached to her.

After awhile the stylish, surly, and somewhat spooky, Mr. Rochester comes home for one of his infrequent visits. The house has been elegantly decked out for opulent soirees to entertain a group of his moneyed houseguest  friends. But he has eyes only for the plain, forthright and reserved Jane. However,  he has some skeletons in his closet.  ou probably know the rest if you have read the novel; If you haven’t then, the film will inform you. 

Jane Eyre is about as atmospheric as a film can get. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman gives you a strong sense of place throughout. Gorgeous scenes of Derbyshire’s moors are usually shrouded in fog. It seems to be cold and rainy much of the time. It is an unforgiving land, bleak but beautiful.

Cary Fukunga has been able to capture the spookiness of the story without dwelling on it. There are strange sounds emanating from who knows what; there are loud poundings on doors; the mists conceal approaching figures. But the focus is kept on Jane’s quiet strength, her innocence, her perceptiveness. She is ‘character’ personified..

Aussie Mia Wasikowski demonstrates Jane’s depth with few words. She glows in this role of a woman who has to hide her inner life. At times you feel like you are inside her head. She very quietly bristles with courage.

Michael Fassbender as the handsome rogue, Mr. Rochester, has just the right amount of creepiness combined with an almost carnal sexiness. His passion is not far from the surface. Judi Dench as Mrs. Fairfax, the goodhearted but crotchety housekeeper, adds the right amount of humor to this splendid film.

This thoughtful and elegant “Jane Eyre” offers superb performances, glorious cinematography, and a very compelling story—there is a reason there have been so many remakes of it. And you see that no matter how plain and lacking in funds a woman may be, she can get a guy: and a wealthy, handsome one at that!