8 days until Jane Eyre 2011

The Detroit Free Press reports Jane Eyre as opening locally on March 25th:

March 25
"Jane Eyre": New film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel about the trials and tribulations of a governess in Victorian England. With Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender and Judi Dench. Rated PG-13 for mature themes, a nude image and brief violence.

Seeing as how the film is not supposedly set to open in the UK until September, it's quite surprising that the BBC News has a video on it which includes clips from the movie, behind-the-scenes images and, more interestingly, interviews with both Mia Wasikowska and Cary Fukunaga. Click here to watch.

94.7 The Wave has an article on the film:

Written by Charlotte Brontë in 1847, and a mainstay of all English literature high school classes for over a century, Jane Eyre is back in a gripping new film starring Mia Wasikowska. [...]
The Australian beauty sparkles in her frumpy appearance as the tragedy ridden Jane Eyre. [...]
She falls in love the man, who is yet another extremely flawed character played very capably by Michael Fassbender. The German born Michael is a newcomer to American audiences, who himself has 7 films to be released soon. His character’s countryside mansion is home to many a strange and bizarre ghostly encounter, and always well past midnight. The incomparable Judi Dench adds a well needed bit of light humor to the story, playing Fassbender’s maid.
Make no mistake, Jane Eyre is a very dark, disturbing and sometimes frightful film. Brilliantly shot with beautiful English countrysides mixed in with the dark horror of Jane Eyre‘s troubled life. The social narrative is very critical of Jane’s tormentors and the wealthy class in general. It has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, and gives focus very clearly to both. (Bill Dudley)

We love the bit about Mrs Fairfax being Mr Rochester's maid. Housekeeper would be the appropriate word, though.

The Century City News is not too keen on the way the story is told on screen and has a few suggestions (!) for a modern take on Jane Eyre:

The story moves along at a swift enough pace and, although there is far too much dialogue, verbosity is practically expected in historical dramas. The characters are quite well drawn and Judy Dench, the housekeeper, gives us a smattering of humor which is sorely needed as the air of gloom is unwavering throughout, even when Mr Rochester courts his engaging young governess.
What doesn’t work at all in this film are the flashbacks. The story is thrown around and interrupts the emotional journey of the brave little girl as she battles her way to adulthood, finds peace, endures heartache, makes her escape and is finally rewarded with happiness. If the director thought the story wasn’t strong enough to be told in linear style, he should have done something more with the script - perhaps made it into something bold or contemporary?
A present day Jane Eyre would be most appealing. She could be taken from her crack addict mother by social services and placed in care, where her therapist encourages her to focus her energies on something creative. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, all Jane can get her hands on are some old tins of spray paint but this puts her in touch with her inner graffiti artist and, when she uploads her ‘Jane On The Job’ video to her Fan Page she gets nine million new friends. Mark Zuckerberg, who’s just sold half his Facebook shares, is so impressed he employs her to graffiti the wall of his new mansion and, pretty soon, the two are having a lot of sex. Unfortunately, his fiancé finds out and she hacks into Mark’s html codes and crashes the entire Facebook website, making ‘Jane Eyre’ into a true 21st Century tragedy. (Miv Evans)

IndieWire's The Playlist is trying to predict already who might be in for an Oscar nomination next year. Jane Eyre is mentioned along with its rather strange promotion:

There’s also a string of literary adaptations out there: Mia Wasikowska in “Jane Eyre” (although the film’s a week from release and has negligible buzz, which suggests it ain’t happening). (Oliver Lyttelton)

Don't forget to check the known screenings in this daily updated post.

Categories: Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV