With more than 20 film and television adaptations, Charlotte Brontë’s gothic melodrama has become one of the quintessential costume dramas.
The first American (silent) film adaptation was released in 1910, with many more versions taking great liberties with the text and relishing in the gothic madness of Mrs Rochester.
Adaptations for the cinema have inevitably resulted in severe editing of the original source – the first talkie, released in 1934, ran for all of 62 minutes!
Arguably the most famous of the big screen versions hit the movie houses in 1944, starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. A true ‘studio’ picture, both stars were close to 30 years old, resulting in criticism that Jane was a decade too old, Rochester a decade too young. Directed by Robert Stevenson, his Jane Eyre saw an uncredited appearance by a young Elizabeth Taylor.
Whilst cinematic versions continued to be made, television – and in particular the BBC – became the natural home of Jane Eyre for several decades. Through miniseries spread over several hours, time enabled the themes of the novel to be explored in more depth. At five and a half hours, the 1983 adaptation starring a pre-James Bond Timothy Dalton is commonly regarded as the most faithful to Brontë’s novel.
Cary Fukunaga’s 2011 version
Critics and audiences alike have welcomed Cary Fukunaga’s take on the classic.
The heart of the story remains Jane’s anguished love for Rochester, made more apparent by the decision by Fukunaga and screenwriter Moira Buffini to begin the film half way through the novel. Thus Jane’s early morning flight from Thornfield and her arrival at the isolated home of the Rivers is where we begin.
Such a change in the narrative presents, from the onset, the emotional turmoil and distress of the independent, straight-talking young woman.
Interspersed with the current are powerful flashbacks, showing her harsh childhood, a child wronged by her aunt and packed off to the most brutal of boarding schools, along with her time as a governess to a young girl at Thornfield Hall.
It’s at Thornfield that, in spite of protocol and a rigid class system, the governess and her master fall in love.
But there is, of course, one major stumbling block to their happiness – the mad Mrs Rochester locked away in distant rooms of the old, rambling house.
It’s the discovery of Mrs Rochester that results in Jane’s flight from Thornfield, finding solace at the home of St John Rivers and his two sisters and who welcome the distraught Jane as one of their own.
The cast
Mia Wasikowska is pitch perfect as Jane Eyre, cast in a physically unflattering light (she is no plain Jane). Modest but forthright, humble but independently willed, Jane Eyre is seen as an early strike for women’s rights and a commentary on the social mores and restrictions of the time. And Wasikowska captures perfectly the humility and restrained fire of the young heroine.
Michael Fassbender beautifully portrays Rochester’s gruff arrogance and inner solitude, although some critics believe he is too good-looking to be wholly convincing as the man haunted by his past. Oddly, few of his early kindnesses to Jane are included in Buffini’s script, resulting in a lack of clarity for the basis of Jane’s feelings for him.
The two are supported by an excellent cast, including the ever-reliable grand dame of British costume dramas, Judi Dench, and Jamie Bell as St John Rivers – the one character who may feel a little hard-done by the adaptation as Rivers, in the original source, is far kinder and less bumptious than portrayed here.
Designed by Will Hughes-Jones, costumes by Oscar-winning Michael O’Connor (The Duchess), the whole is painterly shot by Brazilian cinematographer Adriano Goldman, referencing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood of British artists Rossetti, Burne-Jones, Millais and Holman Hunt.
It may be a little slow for some, but, like the novel, Jane Eyre is a layered melodrama of passion, self-determination and social commentary.
Personal rating: 3.5 stars
Jane Eyre
- Directed by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Chinatown Film Project)
- Written by Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe, Temp – TV)
- Produced by Alison Owen (Elizabeth, The Other Boleyn Girl), Paul Trijbits (Tamara Drewe, Chatroom)
- Starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right), Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class), Judi Dench (Shakespeare In Love, Quantum of Solace), Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot, Jumper)
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
Join the Conversation