Jane Eyre

The Sydney Film Festival also holds Australian premieres. I attended the premiere of this film based on one of the most beloved books ever written.

I've mentioned before that sometimes I like to read a book when I find out that a film is going to be based on it. I also like to do this when a classic book is being made into a film. I had known of 'Jane Eyre' and the story but until recently not read the book. I must say I was quite impressed with it and can see why many people love it so much. It is very romantic and Jane is an excellently written character. I was very interested to see how they would adapt the book considering its length. Script writter Moira Buffini has condenced the book down to only a two hour film. The book is divided into three stories with the main one being the middle story of Jane and her love affair with Rochester. This has always been the main focus of other adaptations too. As a result the other two stories do not get much of a treatment. For the third story this does not matter too much as a condensing helps this section in the film. However the first section has been shortened and not in a good way. The first third of the film plays like an edited highlights of the beginning of the book. This will not matter to people who have not read the book but for fans it will be a disappointment. For me I would have liked to have seen more of Jane's relationship with her friend at school. Otherwise this is a beautiful film. It looks wonderful with the costumes and scenery really accentuated by the gorgeous cinematography. Director Cary Fukunaga is not afraid to show off the harshness of the landscape that Jane has to endure. He has also played up the spooky gothic themes from the book which works well.

Mia Wasikowska is continuing to make excellent choices for the roles she takes on. Here she is perfect as the downtrodden young women who must endure many hardships before finding happiness. She does not seem happy most of the time but that suits the character she is playing. Michael Fassbender is appearing in many films at the moment and is great in all of them, especially here. He is perfect as Rochester. Michael as Rochester has the sexiness needed to charm Jane and enough mystery to make him all the more alluring. I don't think I've seen Judi Dench play a character from the serving class. She is wonderful as Mrs. Fairfax, proving that she can play any role in any station in society. The one I was most impressed by was Jamie Bell. For many years now he has played characters that were younger because of his boyish looks. This is the first film where he looks more mature and grown up. He is brilliant as John River and plays the stuffiness of his character very well.

While fans of the book will no doubt be upset my the lack of some of the books finer points, everyone else can marvel at this wonderful period film. It just looks so beautiful and has many excellent performances.