It is not uncommon to hear the phrase “plain Jane”
referring to someone without striking good looks, but few are aware
that the Jane in the phrase refers to Jane Eyre, the homely orphan girl
in Charlotte Bronte's famous 1847 novel of the same name. In the novel,
Jane survives a tormented childhood, learning to survive the
indignities of a hateful aunt (Sally Hawkins) and a cruel charity
school to become a compassionate adult who learns to believe in herself
as a woman and gain her place in the world. Since I am probably one of
the few people on the planet who has not read the novel or seen any of
the 27 filmed versions, I could see Cary Fukanaga's (Sin Nombré)
filmed version of Jane Eyre without any preconceptions, and it is a
good one.
The film opens with Jane (Mia Wasikowska) by herself in tears in an
empty field in the middle of a fierce storm, her heart broken by the
dishonesty of someone she held dear. From the next scene in which she
finds a sanctuary in the home of Christian missionary St. John Rivers
(Jaime Bell) with two sisters (Holliday Grainger and Tamzin Merchant),
Fukunaga flashes back to Jane's beginnings and how she reached that
point in time. At ten-years of age, Jane (Amelia Clarkson) has much to
overcome. Being called a liar by her aunt, her self-confidence is
further damaged by the physical punishment she has to endure at a
charity school run by fundamentalists. Her only companion is Helen
(Freva Parks), a fragile child who stands up to the cruelty around her,
but who dies of consumption, leaving Jane alone and friendless.
In her teens, Jane becomes the governess of Adele (Romy Settbon Moore)
at the Thornfield estate owned by Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender)
and his housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax (Judi Dench). Set in the remote moors
of England's Yorkshire district, a country captured in all its stark
moodiness by cinematographer Adriano Goldman, Fukanaga creates a
feeling of dark unease in the huge mansion with its strange rattles and
sounds, windows with bars, and wind eerily blowing through the chimney.
Welcomed by Mrs. Fairfax, Jane's initial fears are partially allayed by
the housekeeper's warmth, but her life becomes more difficult when she
encounters Rochester on the country road in which she was walking,
disheveled after falling from his horse.
Though she is at first afraid of him because of his gruff manner, she
is willing to reach out to him and look past the restrictions of their
life stations, he a nobleman and she a commoner. Through fireside talks
that are often intimate and witty, her awakening sexual feelings and
his longing for companionship make them increasingly aware of their
mutual needs. Slowly, their connection begins to emerge, even though
the social differences between them are still an ever-present barrier.
Jane, however, is able to overcome Rochester's often brooding and
sullen nature to develop enough self-confidence to talk with him on a
level of equality.
.
After Rochester reveals a powerful secret that he has been withholding,
Jane's world is shaken and the film shifts to the present, repeating
the opening scene of a distraught young woman on the moor who
negotiates a storm to find a home with the devout clergyman Rivers. The
missionary wants more than a brother and sister relationship, however,
and Jane is forced to make a difficult choice about the kind of life
she wants to live. Though I had nothing to compare it with, I found
Fukanaga's version of the romantic story of loss and redemption to be
captivating, and the lead actors to be very convincing.
I did feel something missing, however. Though Wasikowska captures the
spirit of a spunky young woman, embodying the conflicting emotions of a
young girl emerging into womanhood, I did not experience the inner
sadness or depth that might have come from someone so totally rejected
in her childhood and adolescence. Nevertheless, the film resonates with
its powerful depiction of free will and class distinctions, delivering
an important message about transcending limitations and being willing
to find one's own way in life.
