The film opens with a frightened Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska, Alice in Wonderland) running away. We aren't privy to what or where she is running from, only that she flees as though her life depends on it. Although she comes near death on the cold and windy moors, she collapses on the doorstep of the Rivers family and is taken in by them. St. John (Jamie Bell, Jumper) and his sisters, Diana (Holliday Grainer) and Mary (Tamzin Merchant, The Tudors) restore her health, but they are curious as to the mysterious past of "Jane Elliott." Jane is offered a position as a school teacher and given a lowly and plain cottage to live in, but she is more than pleased to have something of her own, without feeling dependant on anyone else. We then flash back to her past and Jane Eyre is an orphan living with the widow of her now-dead uncle, although Aunt Reed (Sally Hawkins) in none too pleased with the situation. She and her children are verbally and physically abusive to Jane, but Jane simply won't bend. She's strong-willed and independent and these characteristics continue to blossom throughout her life. Aunt Reed sends her off to the Lowood School for Girls. Here, she is persecuted for her strong spirit, but she also makes a dear friend in Helen (Freya Parks), who later dies from the poor conditions of the school. Jane eventually grows into a fine, well educated young woman and takes on a position as Governess to young Adele (Romy Settbon Moore), ward of Mr. Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds). At first, Mr. Rochester is incredibly stern, but he soon grows to appreciate Jane's keen wit and intelligence. They grow ever closer when Jane saves Rochester's life from a strange fire that occurs in his bedroom one night, following some odd sounds in the house; and closer still when an old friend of Edward's is mysteriously attacked at the house and Jane is left to care for him while Edward fetches the doctor.
When Jane hears that Aunt Reed is dying and has sent for her, she feels compelled to go visit, since they parted on bad terms. She soon finds out that she has a very wealthy uncle living in Madeira who had wanted to adopt Jane years before, but Aunt Reed cruelly lied, saying Jane had died at Lowood School. When Jane returns to Rochester Manor, she hears talk from Ms. Fairfax (Judi Dench), the housekeeper, that Mr. Rochester is planning to ask a ridiculous local woman, Miss Ingram (Imogen Poots) to marry him. Jane is hurt, since she felt that Mr. Rochester and she were falling for one another prior to her visit to Aunt Reed's, and she feels compelled to leave for a new position. Imagine her surprise when Rochester asks her to marry him! She readily accepts, but their wedding day is marred when a man interrupts the service to announce that Edward is still married to his sister, and worse yet, that she is kept prisoner in Rochester Manor. Jane is devastated, but Edward insists that she learn the full truth, that his wife is completely insane, dangerous, and responsible for the odd happenings around the house. When he asks that Jane live with him as his wife, despite legalities, she insists that it wouldn't be right and that she couldn't live with herself, and she flees the manor. This is the point where our story first began.
Even as Jane is thriving as a school teacher, she can't get her mind off of Rochester and hears his voice in the wind. Her life changes greatly when her uncle in Madeira passes away, leaving her his vast fortune, and she insists on sharing the money with the Rivers family, whom she feels is her family now. St. John throws a monkey wrench in the works when he asks her to marry him and accompany him to India as she would make a perfect missionary wife, but Jane refuses as she does not love him that way. When she decides to return to Rochester Manor, unable to bear being apart from Edward any longer, Jane finds the once-grand home in burned ruins and her beloved Rochester blind and disheveled. It seems that his insane wife was finally able to burn the place down and jump to her death in the process. With Rochester finally legally free, Jane determines to work things out between them and to spend her life with the man she loves.
Although I will confess that I love a good period piece, what really appealed to me about Jane Eyre was the keen way Fukunaga made parts of the film feel like a Japanese horror. Eerie sounds, mysterious fires, things that go bump in the night and jump scares are scattered throughout the film and they gave it just the right edge. Mia Wasikowska was perfect as the "homely" Jane Eyre, because she is a beauty that has been made to look plain. I never for a moment felt as though as I was watching a movie, but rather that I was peering in on Jane's life. Wasikowska and Fassbender have an intense chemistry between them and all of the acting in this film was, quite frankly, fantastic.
Special features were slim, but enjoyable. In addition to a handful of deleted scenes, there were small featurettes on the music and the lighting of the film, along with a brief look inside the making-of. Director Cary Fukunaga also offers commentary.
Because of the time period in which Jane Eyre takes place, lighting is all done by candlelight and the film is filled with inky blacks and dancing firelight. Everything is crisp, while maintaining a decidedly bland palette while indoors. The visuals certainly pop on Blu-ray, but the real kicker is the audio experience. Crackling fires, creaking floors, and creepy moans all work together to create a really unsettling atmosphere for the film and it really works to sell the experience.
If you aren't a fan of period pieces, Jane Eyre probably won't change your mind, but if you are, you'll really, really enjoy it.
