Having read this book earlier this year, I decided to check out the latest adaptation.
It's a thoroughly atmospheric piece that hits the high notes of the book while losing a bit of the meat. The camera work is beautiful, managing to evoke dread, isolation and beauty all at the same time. Really, truly wonderful images of nature on display here! The houses, as well, are shrouded in shadows and enhanced the already present air of the supernatural that the book only hints at.
For the most part, and somewhat surprisingly, this is played as a horror movie. There are several haunted house tropes, including (unfortunately) a few jump scares, but it manages to pull back from cliche. I worried that this was all an attempt to Hollywood-ize the book, but it never delves into spectacle.
The actors are roundaboutly solid. Mia Wasikowska has a quiet urgency to her here that is far superior to anything in Alice in Wonderland. She has Jane's intelligence, but was maybe a bit too fragile at times. The constant crying in the second half is not how I pictured Jane, but rather she should have been cold and distant. Michael Fassbender is commanding and engaging, but not nearly as ugly as the Rochester I envisioned from the book. The truth is that he's an asshole, a truly horrible person, and there is a tendency in the film to soften his cruel actions.
The two actors have a degree of chemistry together, but it's slightly rushed and comes across as more of a crush on his part and relief on her's. Finally she'll be free of her "tale of woe"! Still, that could be an interpretation of the book. I was a bit disappointed at how abruptly the movie ends. The irony is that Jane is finally bequeathed a position of power when she decides to stay with the blinded Rochester. It's perhaps a bit of reverse Florence Nightengale syndrome, but the tables are turned and there's a man completely reliant on her. The movie plays it up like two star-crossed lovers united.
Hmmm.
Definitely worth a look if you're into period pieces. The costumes alone are worth the $1 Redbox.
