"Darkly moody men can be irresistible" ~ BrontëBlog

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

"Darkly moody men can be irresistible"

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 1:42 pm by Cristina in Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Weirdo, Wuthering Heights 2 comments

Quite a few things on Jane Eyre 2011.

The Vernon Morning Star announces that the film will be shown next Monday by the Vernon Film Society.

Moviegoers who are wondering what to do after voting and before election results come out have a great opportunity to attend Vernon Film Society’s next show Monday, May 2. [...]
Jane Eyre will screen at the Vernon Towne Cinema Monday at 5:15 and 7:45 p.m. All tickets are $7 and are available at Bean Scene one week prior to the showing and at the door.

And the Idaho Mountain Express reveals that the film will also be shown locally:

The Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum will hold its annual Spring Film Festival featuring six independent films. The festival will run from Friday, April 29, through Friday, May 20.
For the festival, he [Magic Lantern Cinemas owner Rick Kessler] chose "Jane Eyre," "Nowhere Boy," "Of Gods and Men," "Win Win," "The Concert" and "The Conspirator."
The first week of the festival will include "Jane Eyre," "Nowhere Boy" and "Of Gods and Men." (Sabina Dana Plasse)

More information on the Jane Eyre screenings here.

411 mania reviews the film and gives it a 7.5:

Will this version of Jane Eyre inspire others to check out the novel? I think it will. While it does contain some flaws, Cary Fukunaga has established himself as a fine filmmaker, one who has an equal amount of intelligence with visuals as he does working with actors. I look forward to seeing what he has to offer in the future. Here, he focuses on Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, who hand in terrific performances with a superb supporting cast that includes Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, and Sally Hawkins. The distinct style and structure will develop a following, but the problem with all these revisits of classic novels is that unless they can find a way to overtake the best adaptation, it will be tough for them to stand out. I'd still recommend this, if not for fans of the book then for fans of the two outstanding stars. This is probably still being shown in some of the smaller arthouse theaters, but it should be on its way to DVD before long. (Chad Webb)

Red & Black mostly likes it too:

Wasikowska has moments when she captures Jane’s spirit and her soul shines out, but most of these moments are quiet and fleeting.
For the most part, she seems flat, failing to impart the passion that Rochester supposedly sees in Jane.
On the other hand, Fassbender plays Rochester with just the right mix of brooding and manipulation.
His performance is much more subtle than the Rochesters who have come before him, which makes his character harder, at first, to grasp.
He doesn’t yell and stomp around as much, and this makes him seem not as sick or frustrated as he needs to be.
Whereas Wasikowska’s understated performance leaves too many feelings and thoughts unstated, Fassbender manages to portray depth through his. [...]
Fukunaga’s movie does not reinvent the wheel, but it does give the 21st-century its own version of the gothic romance.
In a market glutted with dark tales of love and loss, it is a welcome addition — a film with a heart as well as a brain. (Sarah Smith)

The Daily Tribune publishing editor recommends it as well:

Sharon and I recently slipped into Dallas to see Jane Eyre at the Angelica. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
This was my first experience with the Charlotte Brontë gothic romance on the big screen. The theater allowed me to avoid all those at home distractions that can keep you from immersing yourself in the story.
I won’t say Mia Wasikowska, Judi Dench and Michael Fassbender did a better job than other productions, but their efforts were certainly commendable.
If you are in the mood to slurp some classic culture, you can do worse than spending a dark and stormy night with Jane. (Bob Palmer)

The Evansville Courier & Press reviews it briefly 'from a family perspective'. The high school journal Clarion, Junto Letras (in Portuguese) and Ionarts review the film too.

Also connected to Jane Eyre is the film Jucy, which is to be shown at this year’s London Australian Film Festival (May 5 through 12 at the Barbican centre). The Hollywood Reporter summarises it as follows:

billed as a quirky comedy set in a Brisbane video store where Jackie and Lucy (collectively ‘Jucy’) plot a way out of their boredom by getting involved in a local production of Jane Eyre, angling to snag the local heartthrob and a new job into the bargain. (Stuart Kemp)

The Pikes Peak Courier View talks to a local English teacher who talks about his experience teaching Wuthering Heights:

In teaching the English novel by Emily Brontë, “Wuthering Heights,” Leonard manages to elicit positive feedback. “They complain all the way through but, in my lecture, when I show them why it’s an important book, they agree that it’s a great book,” he said. (Pat Hill)

Author Meg Cabot also does her bit bringing the Brontës to youngsters. She is interviewed by The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy.

John Hayden [from her new novel Abandon] wouldn’t be easily mistaken for a lighthearted love interest—he’s joining the brooding ranks of Edward Cullen, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, Dimitri Belikov, etc. What do you think attracts readers to darker heroes?
The same thing that attracted Elizabeth Bennet to Mr. Darcy and Jane Eyre to Mr. Rochester. Darkly moody men can be irresistible because we’re drawn to that which we don’t understand… People can be extremely compelling when they seem dangerous, especially when they’re as dark and mysterious as John in “Abandon.” And of course, Pierce is drawn to him in a way she can’t understand. And that might be what scares her most of all.
But John—like Darcy with Elizabeth, and Rochester with Jane—is the only person who truly understands Pierce, and what she’s been through. (Gina Bernal)

A.V. Club has some thoughts on completism:

The latter means just accepting that, yeah, you’re going to miss some good stuff. A lot of good stuff. But that’s okay. It’s a big world with abundant deposits of good stuff, and while it’s sad that you’re not going to get to it all—be it Charlotte Brontë, Jackson Pollock, or The Moonglows—isn’t it kind of wonderful that we live in a world with too much to experience in one lifetime? (Keith Phipps)

Well, from BrontëBlog we would suggest not missing Charlotte Brontë (or her family) but then again we're mostly preaching to the choir here.

The Berkeley Daily Planet discusses Chekhov's The Three Sisters and mentions its possible Brontë origins.

But now for something unexpected. Gizmodo dixit:

Masturbating in public is always illegal, whether you’re doing it to internet porn or Jane Eyre, so that shouldn’t be an issue as long as there’s some diligent librarian to enforce it (and my God what an awful job that would be). (Sam Biddle)