Reading the Brontës

The Pilot (Southern Pines) announces the winners of the 31st annual Fine Arts Festival presented by the Arts Council of Moore County. The painting on the right (Reading Brontë by Yvonne Sovereign was second in the oil category).

It seems that this Sunday's Observer will have an interesting Brontë article:

And in Sunday's Observer New Review: Peter Conrad wonders what today's film-makers can bring to the classics like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights that the Brontës hadn't thought of already.

The Boston Globe and 27east have an alert for next week:

In her lively and fun new book, Carmela Ciuraru briefly profiles16 cases of writers who published under pseudonyms. Ciuraru examines the cases of women who adopted male names in order to be taken seriously, such as George Sand, born Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, and the Brontë sisters. Then there are others like George Orwell and Lewis Carroll who, Ciuraru writes, “longed to escape the burdens of selfhood.” Ciuraru will read from ’’Nom De Plume’’ on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books.

The Guardian reviews Lone Scherfig's One Day:

Of course, this plain Jane/hot guy combo is often to be found in novels, presumably because they're bought and read by more women than men. (...)
And there's a new version of the prototype of this sort of relationship coming up next month; yes, Mia Wasikowska can be pretty, but no, we won't be paying much attention to her Jane Eyre so long as Michael Fassbender is on screen as Mr Rochester. (Anne Billson)

Curiously, Cinemanerdz also reviews the film and also quotes from Jane Eyre:

She is more of a wall flower, studious, Jane Eyre-reading type, so they do not seem to be a match; something he lets her know by asking if they can just sleep/cuddle (which foreshadows the years of disappointment this boy will provide for this girl). (Laurie Fundukian)

And the Yorkshire Post has a piece of advice for the actress in the film, Anne Hathaway:

Despite the wandering accent, One Day is still set to become one of the biggest films of the year, but Anne, if you ever get cast as Cathy in Wuthering Heights, please drop in before filming starts, the door to Yorkshire will always be open.

The Washington Post talks about first novels:

The trouble with writing a truly great first novel — as Walker Percy, Alan Paton and both Charlotte and Emily Brontë, among others, could all attest — is that you spend the rest of your career trying to live up to it. (Heller McAlpin)

Well, technically in Charlotte's case it is the first published novel, as The Professor was written first although published posthumously.

The Independent reviews Josie Long's show The Future is Another Place:

To help the political medicine go down, there are interludes in which she talks about Jedward, the Brontës and things she likes. It is intelligent, inspiring and exciting to watch. (Alice Jones)

Cultist talks about the upcoming book by the Kardashian sisters:

There are no more acclaimed trio of literary sisters than Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, writers of Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and whatever Anne Brontë wrote respectively. And yet Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney have managed to soar past the Brontë's accomplishments in their debut novel by choosing to write collaboratively. What artistry! Did they trade chapters? Paragraphs? Sentence fragments? The secrets of the Kardashian verve may never be known. (Drew Spears)

Bookreporter presents The Ballad of Tom Dooley:

What seemed at first to be a sordid tale of adultery and betrayal was transformed by the new discoveries into an Appalachian Wuthering Heights. (Sharyn McCrumb)

The Ashtabula Star Beacon highlights the rest of the cast apart from Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles in Jane Eyre 1944: Peggy Ann Garner, Liz Taylor, Agnes Moorehead, Henry Daniell...

A new version was released early this year and is coming to home video.
Ah, but one of the best comes from 1943. As you would expect, it’s filled with film noir.
It has also plenty of recognizable stars. (Video Viper and Robert Lebzelter) (Read more)

And more Jane Eyre 2011 DVD reviews:

Philadelphia Inquirer:

In Cary Joji Fukunaga’s moody adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel, Mia Wasikowska progresses from a woman-child scared of her own shadow to someone who, after a long eclipse, comes into the light. Michael Fassbender is magnetic as Rochester, Jane’s employer.

San Francisco Chronicle:

This is a respectful account of the Charlotte Brontë story, but one without the repressed eroticism and lavishness of emotion that we associate with the gothic tale. It will do, but there are better versions out there. (Mick LaSalle)

BitchBuzz:

Mia Wasikowska is everything you’d expect in Jane. Her looks are adequately subdued underneath a hairstyle that makes her ear’s a feature, but still manages to display all the desires and tempered passion that make Jane such a formidable heroine. Michael Fassbender’s Rochester is my favorite, however. Convincing as a brute asshole, even when he yields he manages to retain that manly fervor that makes him so attractive to our Jane. (...)
The film’s atmospheric qualities are lovely. The hollow sounds of the wind, grey undertones to everything, even moments in the sun seemingly filmed through gauze make the film’s environment adequately dark. The story, however, seems in a rush to get to its ending. Jane Eyre’s huge reveal is sprung much too soon, opportunities to ramp up the anticipation clearly missed, making Jane Eyre less thrilling than it could be. (Sarah McBride)

Minot Daily News:

The film is so matter-of-fact that it feels almost Scandinavian, especially when it starts out with a scene from midway through the novel, with a tearful Jane running on the windswept moor until she passes out. There is no dialogue, but the audience hears her every painful breath. This is a film that strips the romance from the characters and makes them feel real. (Andrea Johnson)

Erie Times-News:

The book is called "Jane Eyre" but when it comes to its numerous movie versions, whether it's Orson Welles in 1944 or Michael Fassbender right now, the actor playing Edward Rochester often ends up with the lion's share of the attention. A part like that is catnip for performers who can play the rogue male, and Fassbender swallows it whole. (Gerry Weiss)

The Oregonian:

Though "Jane Eyre" has been adapted many, many times over the years, director Cary Fukunaga's version has some somber charm of its own, as well as subtle performances by Mia Wasikowska as the grave governess, and Fassbender as Mr. Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall. (Kristi Turnquist)

The List:

Director Cary Fukunaga dumps the childhood chapters, makes insinuations as to the cruel upbringing endured by Eyre before picking up the story as she takes up a job as a governess in the house of the beguiling Rochester.Starring the otherworldly Mia Wasikowska in the titular role and the devilish Michael Fassbender as Rochester, the casting has been designed to place emphasis on the gothic aspects of the book. The sense of eeriness is delivered with the cloudy backdrop of the Yorkshire Moors and muted clothing choices. Clearly mindful to appeal to the Twilight generation – foreboding, danger and forbidden love are the juices fuelling this romance. (Kaleem Aftab)

The Globe and Mail:

Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland) does an excellent job as the young woman who takes the chill off Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Charlotte Bronte’s tale remains a compelling argument for fire insurance. (Warren Clements)

Detroit News:

Director Cary Fukunaga revives this classic with a surprisingly strong sense of appropriate tone, never drifting toward mawkishness or hysteria. It helps mightily that the extraordinary Mia Wasikowska has the title role and brings just the right mix of fire and humility to the determined young woman who, after a rough upbringing, finds love only to have it wrenched away by circumstance. (Tom Long)

The Record:

Faced with the task of turning out yet another adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's page-turner, filmmaker Cary Fukunaga has chosen to drain the gothic-ness out of the famously windswept tale. That means that Thornfield Hall, the dank mansion where Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) begins her romance with bad boy boss Rochester (Michael Fassbender), is less creepy than desolate. The film is watchable, aided by terrific turns from Wasikowska, Fassbender and Judi Dench, but it should have been wilder, darker and more dangerous.

The News-Observer:

From the first scene, in which the pale and painfully corseted Wasikowska flees into the desolate English moors, "Jane Eyre" is steeped in gothic stylishness. Director Cary Fukunaga has a surprisingly sure hand with the material, considering his relatively tender age (34) and his only other feature film (the Mexican indie drama "Sin Nombre"). (...)
Fukunaga uses an interesting framing device to tell most of the story in flashback, concentrating on Jane's years at mysterious Thornfield manor. The director obscures the book's famous plot twist nicely, though several deleted scenes suggest he considered an interesting horror-movie approach to the Thornfield incident. (Glenn McDonald)

And Calkins Media, USA Today.

The New Zealand Herald alerts to a charity movie premiere of Jane Eyre next August 29 (the film opens in theatres on September 22):

The classic romantic novel Jane Eyre has been brought to life for a new generation of film fans and premiere showings will support the women's cancer charity Look Good Feel Better. (...)
Tickets for the event to be held at 6.30pm on August 29 in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch cost $35 and include a glass of wine.

Shockya interviews Imogen Poots (Blanche Ingram in Jane Eyre 2011):

ShockYa: Acting affords those sorts of opportunities too, of course — every project could be its own extracurricular study. Obviously certain movies or genres are less research dependent… but in past projects like “Jane Eyre” or whatever, have you found yourself tripping headlong into research, and different eras?
IP: Oh, of course. Some projects really do require extensive research. With something like “Jane Eyre” it would have been foolish not to have read the novel, I feel (laughs), but also to have read about women in that time period, and the society.

Jen's 30 before 30 project posts about Jane Eyre and Skyblue State of Mind writes about the 2011 adaptation. Confessions of a Book Addict reviews Withering Tights and is giving away a copy of the book among US readers.

Categories: Art-Exhibitions, Books, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, References, Wuthering Heights