While
in New York, I went to the movies three times.
I
have seen three completely different pictures, but I have enjoyed them in the
same, intense way. Each of them dragged me in their own particular atmosphere
and I felt shaken by every vision, and it is exactly what I expect from cinema.
Here they are!
Oh,
I was SO looking forward to seeing THIS movie!
For
two main reasons: I am a huge fan of the Brontë Sisters (I grew up reading and
adoring their novels) and I am a huge fan of the actors playing the main roles.
It is impossible to have seen all the adaptations of this book made over the
years both by cinema and television, but I have always tried to be updated. The
story is a classic of literature history (written in 1847): Jane Eyre, a little
orphan, is put by her awful aunt into a gloomy school where she learns to be a
teacher and a governess. Once left the place, Jane accepts a governess position
at Thornfield House, and she secretly falls in love with the house master, the
very moody Mr. Rochester. After a while, Mr. Rochester asks Jane to marry him:
this is a much unexpected event for the girl, but things don’t go the way they
should…
The
young film-maker Cary Fukunaga (best known until now for his movie Sin Nombre) and
screen writer Moira Buffini (best known for her great work on Tamara Drewe), managed
to create a striking novel’s adaptation, with the benefit of a modern touch (especially
for the gothic, almost horror-film atmosphere), but I really think that the
movie should have been longer. The
2 hours version doesn’t allow enough time to the relationship between Jane and
Mr. Rochester to fully develop. This is the only major defect I’ve found to the
movie: when Mr. Rochester asks Jane to marry him, the proposal sounds weird not
only to Jane but also to the movie audience. It is a pity, because the
chemistry between the two actors is really amazing and all the first scenes
between them are full of great expectations. The thing I wasn’t disappointed
by, was surely the cast: young Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (her portrait
of a suicidal teenager in the first season of In Treatment was simply unforgettable!) is a
splendid Jane Eyre. Her mix of seriousness, dignity, wittiness and search for
independence gives to the character a contemporary appeal. German/Irish actor Michael
Fassbender is probably too young to play Rochester (he is just 34 years old)
but he is so good to portray this grumpy, arrogant and yet fascinating man,
that we instantly believe in anything he says or does (Zazie has been telling
you this since 2009: watch, watch, watch for this actor, he will be very famous
some day soon!). In minor roles, Dame Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell,
reminds us that, well, British actors always do it better!
If you're looking for a truly romantic movie, you can't find a better one.
