Review: Jane Eyre (Cary Fukunaga)

Seen 4/2/15

3.5/4

Jane Eyre is a fantastic story by Charlotte Bronte, put on by fantastic actors. The protagonist and the man are tremendously intriguing characters, and the pair is just as strong (up until one point, which I will explicate later). But not only are the characters powerfully engaging in their own right--indeed, reading this book would be a large and grand experience in itself--the actors Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender add a whole new dimension of greatness and intensity. Yes, I would call this adaptation "great", having never read the book, but feeling almost uniform consistency and strength throughout the film. Fukunaga made a great and powerful film, regardless of whether it appealed to the book.
My single complaint with the film is the speed to which Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester acclimate as equals upon his proposal and the advent of their unbridled romance. Beforehand, there was a subtle intensity and profoundness to every word spoken between the two of them. While he could say anything he pleased (which, no mistake, was always fully worth hearing), she had to be careful as his subordinate. Suddenly, once he declares his love, she is able to let down every barrier that pushed her from him, barriers that had existed all her life in relationships. It seems very unlikely, and it is de-characterizing, which is the saddest sin the filmmakers could have committed after crafting such incredible characters.
But soon, as Jane learns of Bertha Antoinetta Mason, her manner is restored and the rest of the film feels corrected and true.
I love the character of Jane Eyre, the character of Fairfax Rochester, the two together, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, the pre-Victorian English setting, the Romantic-era string music, and I love the film Jane Eyre.

To be clearer, it is not Jane's letting her guard down and releasing her sense of inferiority that disappoints me in that scene in the field. In fact, that whole scene rests fairly well with me. It is rather the following couple of minutes, where every aspect of their personalities around one another vanish and they are instantly a "couple", playful and comfortable, with hardly the intellection that had defined them prior. Then the correction in the film occurs not because Jane takes to her inferiority again, but because the true state of their relationship--not as a seasoned and romantic couple, but rather transitionary--is restored. The film ends with a scene that is more pure and true to the characters than I could have imagined. The turn of events is extraordinary, and the film ends in a rightful state.