Review of Jane Eyre (2011) by Karen M — 12 Feb 2012

I certainly can't fault much of Cary Fukunaga's interpretation of Charlotte Bronte's timeless story of a woman who resents being anyone's property and is one of literature's first women to seek independence from men, but I can't say that I found this film particularly entertaining.

The story of an orphan girl who was mistreated for most of her life until she finds love in the arms of Mr. Rochester, Fukunaga's film follows the original novel quite closely, though some important details were seemingly deleted for no reason, and can be found in the special features of the DVD.

Mia Wasikowska, in a very strong yet dreary performance (also seen this year flexing some excellent acting muscle in "Albert Nobbs") plays the titular character in a very honest, earnest fashion, but never seems to enrapture her enough to truly click with the viewer. Michael Fassbender, so strong in a bunch of films this year, including "X-Men: First Class," "A Dangerous Method" and "Shame" (for which many feel he was robbed of an Oscar nomination), makes it terribly easy to understand why anyone, not just Jane, would fall in love with his terribly handsome face and masculine demeanour. With a cast that is rounded out by incredible names like Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell, you'd think the film would be far more enrapturing.

However, I just found it very slow moving and dreary and just barely keeping my attention. It is a well-acted and beautifully filmed period piece and the Oscar-nominated costumes are well done, but just like the rest of the film, they are grey and depressing and just not all that attention-grabbing.