Restoring its Stark Power

This August in Brontëland has basically two news poles: Jane Eyre 2011 Region 1 DVD and Andrea Arnold's upcoming Wuthering Heights. After being presented at the Venice Film Festival, the film will enter the Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation. The festival's website says about the film:

No starched lace, no panoramic views, no sweeping score — Andrea Arnold takes Emily Brontë’s classic novel and strips it to the root of youthful passion, restoring its stark power for a contemporary audience. Following her bracing portraits of female desire in Red Road and Fish Tank, Arnold pushes even further here, portraying love as a rush of heart-stopping beauty, cruelty and impulsive acts.

And it includes a few promotional pictures (which can also be found on Collider) uncredited, although we suppose them to be the work of Agatha A. Nitecka:





EDIT: Tiff dates:
Friday September 9 - TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 - 7:00pm
Saturday September 10 - TIFF Bell Lightbox 1 - 12:00pm
Friday September 16 - Visa Screening Room (Elgin) - 9:00pm


The Guardian makes a top ten of the films which will be presented in Venice:

Wuthering Heights has been a long time coming. The project was first mooted in 2008 (with Natalie Portman briefly booked to play Cathy) and was tipped to unveil at the Cannes film festival in May. But the Croisette's loss could be the Lido's gain. Andrea Arnold (Red Road, Fish Tank) directs newcomers Kaya Scodelario and James Howson in the latest stab at Emily Brontë's wind-blown Gothic melodrama. (Xan Brooks)

IndieWire's The Playlist has high expectations:

Andrea Arnold will also hit down with her “Fish Tank” followup, her version of “Wuthering Heights.” The film might have a virtually unknown cast (newcomer James Howson plays Heathcliff, while “Skins” star Kaya Scodelario is Cathy), but considering the source material and the woman behind the camera, this will likely go to unexpected places. (Kevin Jagernauth)

Monsters & Critics on Jane Eyre 2011:

The latest film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre is a glorious treat for literary and movie fans. Scenery, script, production and acting skills blend to make a flawless tale of human strengths, weaknesses, relationships and spirit that is haunting and beautiful.
Mia Wasikowska is the perfect Jane Eyre. Her interpretation of the character is finely tuned to the written original.  (June L.)

The Daily Journal:

Charlotte Brontë's Gothic romance is brought to life under the direction of Cary Fukunaga and screenwriter Moira Buffini with the age appropriate Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender giving a fresh interpretation of Jane and her employer, Edward Rochester. Fukunaga took a page from director Joe Wright's book, giving "Jane Eyre" a more natural look -- similar to Wright's 2003 adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice."
Wasikowska is a fantastic actress who can hold her own with some of the most respected names in the business, including Gabriel Byrne, Johnny Depp and Annette Bening.
However, she comes off muted after witnessing the mesmerizing turn by Amelia Clarkson as the young Jane. But upon closer inspection you realize that Wasikowska is merely presenting us with a Jane who has had her spirit nearly beaten out of her during her formative years. (...)
Fassbender, to no surprise, is a passionate Rochester. He brings with him a power that makes Rochester such an attractive proposition, as well as a touch of paranoia that allows the owner of Thornfield Hall to believe he could one day lose the very the very thing he so desperately covets. Rochester is a character that a lesser actor could chew the scenery with; however Fassbender keeps a tight rein on him, ensuring that he comes off as tortured rather than tortuous. (Joanne Thornborough)

Movie Fanatic:

Mia Wasikowska was born to play Jane Eyre and this film easily makes it to the top of the bunch for this week’s DVD and Blu-Ray releases. Director Cary Fukunaga’s taken Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel and breathed new life into it on the screen. It is dark, powerful and come Academy Award nomination time, we hope Oscar does not forget Wasikowska or her co-star, the astounding Michael Fassbender.

Toronto Independent Movie Examiner:

Jane Eyre is a perfect example of filmmaking that takes a beloved piece of literature and makes it fresh and original standing out from previous interpretations.  Cary Fukunaga is a talent to watch in the coming years. (David Voigt)

The Montreal Gazette:

Director Cary Fukunaga celebrates the gothic horror roots of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel in this story of a shy governess who discovers her employer’s dark secret. Granted, at times the theatrical flourishes feel a bit like a fog machine stuffed inside a grandmother’s doll house, but it’s mostly effective.

The Morton Report:

Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender star in the 172nd version of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel. Perhaps surprisingly, reviews have been mostly favorable, so perhaps we did need another adaptation of this after all. (Adam Jahnke)

The Frisky:

Charlotte Brontë‘s Jane Eyre is one of those stories that gets me every time. So it makes me a little sad that anyone could have missed the Cary Joji Fukunaga’s awesome version of the tale that came out earlier this year. Not so into the classics? Well, I’ll try to woo you on more pop culture terms. (...) It’s beautifully shot, and almost makes the barren landscape into a character in the story. Really good stuff. (Kate Torgovnik)

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

This version — from Cary Fukunaga, the director responsible for "Sin Nombre,"  — is terrific, and that starts with actress Mia Wasikowski, a tremendous young talent in the title role. Wasikowski brings great energy to her part, handling it like a seasoned veteran. She gets help in support from Michael Fassbender — in the role of Rochester — and Jamie Bell — playing St. John Rivers. Fukunaga, who works from a screenplay by Moira Buffini, wraps everything else up with superb cinematography in memorable settings, and a royal effort from the costume department.  (Garrett Conti)

Moviefone:

A wonderful new interpretation of Charlotte Brontë's classic that alters the novel's structure but not the emotional impact of the characters or the scenarios. Mia Wasikowska is a perfect Jane Eyre -- not overly pretty but still striking in her looks and demeanor; she pulls you into her character as you feel her pain and discomfort -- and stoicness. And Michael Fassbender scores well as the troubled Rochester. An auspciouis outing for director Cary Fukunaga. If you thought there were already two many 'Jane Eyres' out there, you'd be wrong.  (Harley W. Lond)

The Times-Picayune:

But with arresting and well-conceived visuals, director Cary Joji Fukunaga sets a moody and eerie stage for Wasikowska, and she delivers with a fantastic performance that sets this retelling apart. (Mike Scott)

Metro:

Fukunaga’s vision, in concert with screenwriter Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe), strips the Brontë novel to its dark roots about the physical and emotional travails of young orphan Jane.
The two main protagonists have been given small but significant personality makeovers: Jane is less pious and Rochester is less verbose than in the novel. Wasikowska and Fassbender do such a superb job in their roles, and match together so well, that no one need fear any disservice to Brontë’s everlasting intention: a love story where the woman is the equal to the man. (Peter Howell)

Filmcritic:

Cary Joji Fukunaga's adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's gothic romance stars Mia Wasikowska as the titular tough-minded but plain-faced governess and Michael Fassbender as the gloomy and secretive employer she falls for. Our critic found that this version of Brontë's oft-filmed "gloomy vision of class, religious austerity, and the most closely guarded chambers of the heart needs no contrasting or comparisons to earn its rightful praise." (Chris Barsanti)

Film School Rejects:

Fukunaga’s film is technically proficient on every level from the acting to the beautiful cinematography, but it offers nothing new to help it stand apart and/or above the many previous versions.  (Rob Hunter)

Videodrone:

Shot on wind-scoured landscape of the chilly highlands of Northern Britain, this new incarnation embraces the gothic gloom and lonely isolation of the novel but, like its stoic, strong heroine, never gives in to the darkness. It is gorgeous but never what you would call pretty. And for all of Jane's careful social front, never letting her true feelings show through, she is forthright and true and unfailingly honest. 
Perfectly cast, beautifully produced and terribly engaging, it is one of the best British literary adaptations since the 1995 "Pride and Prejudice" mini-series. (SeanAx)

Fandango:

Director Cary Fukunaga's fresh, slightly stylized take on the century-plus-old material turns what could have been just another ho-hum version of a stodgy novel into a gorgeous, modern-feeling romance. (Stacie Hougland)

And The Celebrity Cafe, Queerty, Fox44-Baton Rouge, Popcornbiz, ScreenCrave, CBS Philadelphia,  USA Today's PopCandy, Zap2it, Divine Comedy of Errors, Bollywood, Books and Baking, Can't Stop the Movies, Inspired Ground, DVD-Max!, Gossip Hollywood, Cosas mías, coses meues (in Spanish) ...

Sally Reeve (who played Martha, the cook) shares a capture of the film where she appears, one of the few that were not cut from the final film.

Gulf Islands Driftwood reviews Sandra M. Gilbert’s Rereading Women: Thirty Years of Exploring Our Literary Traditions:

is a collection of essays that offers readers an interesting second look at books and authors who have shaped our perceptions of ourselves and of women’s world in the largely man-made traditions of western society.  Through re-reading classic female authors, including Louisa May Alcott​, Emily Dickinson and Charlotte Brontë (as well as many others) and re-interpreting their worlds from a more feminist perspective, Gilbert develops a less traditional explanation for the stories of their heroines and the settings in which they develop their characters. All together, this book is a valuable addition to the knowledge of anyone with an interest in literature and gender roles in western societies. (Maggie Warbey)

The Ottawa Citizen recommends ereaders for a very prosaic reason:

I’ve also read more works of classic literature this year than in any other year in memory, because in e-bookland classic literature is free. You can download most any work by Dickens or the Brontës or whomever and pay not a penny. That’s why this year I’ve read more Wilkie Collins, and my first three books by Thomas Hardy: because they’re free. (The Big Beat)

Dave Astor imagines if all books were as violent as Cormac McCarthy's at the Huffington Post:

Jane Eyre packing heat at Lowood.

Bookreporter publishes info about their reviewers: Kathy Weissman is also an author which has Jane Eyre as one of her favourite novels; Kelly Miller Sketchbook posts a painting inspired by Wuthering Heights; The Literary Dilettantes has a poll going about which Brontë sister you prefer; Friends of TED suggests for this fall a reading of four novels by the Brontës and further discussions; vg92 shares on Flickr a picture of North Lees Hall; on DevianArt Abigial709b shares some of her Brontë replicas: bonnets, little books, Emily's desk...; YumiWishnya uploads a Jane Eyre drawing.

Categories: Brontëites, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights