Jane Eyre

I will put it simply for you: I was not disappointed!

Now, Jane herself. She was mild, calm and plain. Everything she encompasses best. I will admit, she was occasionally too weak and there was an element of cheekiness missing on her part. However, this being an interpretation, I am willing to surpass this fact. Mia Wasikowska was very convincing and her natural, yet obscure, beauty definitely benefits her part. She was the perfect, passive Jane with the sporadic rebellious anecdote to keep the spirit of the character alive.

Jamie Bell’s portrayal of Rivers was expected and followed the average interpretation of the character. His sideburns were particularly ridiculous which simply added to humour of his overly religious attitude. Overall, there’s not much to say about his predictable and insignificant characterisation.

Now, the most important and heartbreaking character, Mr Rochester. Michael Fassbender’s rugged good looks and broody face added to the ever sultry and brooding nature. I was pleased to find the director did not wish to dwell on the ‘moody and cruel’ Rochester that can sometimes be chosen. He was the right amount of rude and cheeky making him particularly irresistible. Rochester’s attempts to penetrate Jane’s respectable exterior with his cheeky, cavalier comments makes the perfect couple.

Though the relationships are fun and exciting, the director manages to keep the Gothic theme strongly alive throughout. There are occasional jumpy moments, along with creeks and bumps in the night. This is vital to the overall Bronte style and I was, therefore, satisfied that this film had done Charlotte’s masterpiece justice. Also, the chronology is slightly different from the novel, however, I feel this worked well for the overall experience of the film.

One final thought, the beard ruins all of Rochester’s appeal.

Picture from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/film/jane_eyre/gallery

Hopes for ‘Jane Eyre’

Converting a classic novel, or any novel for that matter, into a movie is always a little bit risky. So any attempt at visually recreating Charlotte Bronte’s masterpiece is going to be no mean feat. This has led to many hopes and fears on my part about whether or not they’re going to completely destroy or (however unlikely) improve it. ‘Jane Eyre’ is one of my favourite Victorian novels, only to be surpassed by her sister’s ‘Wuthering Heights’.

What I hope they do:

Keep Jane plain. This is Jane’s whole character. She is not particularly beautiful, amazingly intelligent or even slightly funny. Therefore, the choice to use the fairly anonymous Mia Wasikowska is a wise choice. However, having not seen her performance in ‘Alice in Wonderland’, I really couldn’t tell.

As for Mr Rochester, what can I say. He’s not allowed to be pretty as he is quite famously not a handsome man. It’s his teasing charm that entices Jane (seconded by the fact she has never before received attention like his) and therefore the choice of the fantastically charming and experienced Michael Fassbender is bound to be perfect. His extreme masculinity opposed to the inexperienced and feminine Mia will, hopefully, work wonders on the screen.

However, what does not bode well for my above point is that I had to search on the extended character page on IMDb. If this is any reflection of Rochester’s involvement in the movie then I will be, not only disappointed but, mortified. St John Rivers however is billed second. Yes, second!! I’m sorely hoping that this does not mean that they director has decided to take some ‘artistic’ take on Bronte’s original work and make Rivers the male lead. We must wait and see.

This brings me on to what I hope they don’t do. Firstly, the above. But I shall not dwell on that any longer. Secondly, I hope they do not wash over the significance that Rochester’s wife plays. Even a flashback scene would be a nice touch though I do not hold much hope. Thirdly, and finally, I hope they don’t down play the importance of Jane’s time at Lowood because, in my opinion, this is a substantial and important part of her life and the book.

Unfortunately, my pondering will not change how the film turns out, therefore, I shall simply have to wait and write a follow-up review once I’ve seen it. Lets hope it’s juicy!

A little something different …

I thought this would be a good platform to get my writing out there so, basically, enjoy!

Feel free to read and squeeze this for yourselves.

The Golden Age: by, yours truly, Georgia Moore

She didn’t recognise anyone in the room. It was a strange feeling to be in a room so full and yet feeling so alone. Not five minutes ago she was surrounded by infuriating but loving family and old family friends. Now everyone around her was wrinkled, intimidating … unfamiliar. They were all speaking as if they knew each other. They were all smiling eerily. Some would even send a shifty glance in her direction as if she were the odd one.
‘I should leave,’ was her immediate thought ‘I should get out of here while I’m not noticed.’ She looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to her before gradually rising from her seat. Her knees shook and she wondered why it was such a struggle at her youthful age. However, she continued despite the spine tingling pain. She casually rose until she was erect and surveyed the room: ‘All clear.’ She thought.
‘Where are you going?’ A booming voice demanded of her from an armchair opposite her.
‘I think I’ll be getting off now. Parents will wonder where I am, you see,’ and she added in thought ‘If only I knew where I was.’
‘I’m definite they won’t be. Now sit.’
‘I really should be going.’
‘No. You. Don’t.’ The bellowing man advanced toward her with purpose set in his eyes. He reached out and pushed her back into the seat. ‘Just sit, okay?’
‘Why did you do that? Who do you think you are?’ She jumped to her feet (with great effort) and stumbled to a cupboard door she saw which stood ajar only a few feet away. As she approached she heard many of the occupants of the room rise, along with the towering man who restrained her before. She daren’t look behind but she could sense their swift movement toward her. The door stood but a metre away so she plunged herself into the darkness with a clatter of mops and buckets around her. She kicked the door shut behind her and turned the key with her quivering fingers just as a mass of bodies crashed against the door.
‘Get out of there. What are you doing?’
The gloom which surrounded her oppressed her greatly. She was alone. She was afraid. She was doomed. All these ominous thoughts ran through her confused mind while an orchestra of thuds and punches slammed against the paper-thin door. Her hands sheltered her ears in an attempt to block any sound from disturbing her, progressing into a rhythmic rocking backward and forward, backward and forward, backward and forward. Her confusion rose while her anxiety became overwhelming. The commotion on the other side of the barrier seemed to get louder and louder until she couldn’t hear her own thoughts swimming through her head, rocking faster and faster. Suddenly, she stretched her arms and legs to their full length and let out a shrill cry so chilling that it lowered a veil of silence.
The thudding had stopped. The gloom had lifted to a warm glow and everything was right in the world again. ‘I’m too old to be hiding away in cupboards.’ she thought. She calmly stood, unlocked the door and cautiously looked out.
She was encircled by the furrowed brows of her friends and family.
‘Oh, you’re back,’ She said though her flippancy seemed to baffle everyone in the room. ‘Sit down then. What are you all doing?’
She took a seat, accompanied by everyone in the room. However, while Rose sat with a serene smile spread over her lips, many of the others stared down into their laps or tried to be occupied while obviously having other things on their minds. Rose was perplexed as to what could have possibly happened while she was in the cupboard but felt nothing good could come from pressing the subject. She simply picked up her knitting and carried on as best as she could, considering many of the eyes were fixed on her. Out the corner of her eye she noticed her husband and Len rise and move into the kitchen area.
***
Gerald clicked the kettle to boil but left his eyes fixed on his wife.
‘How long has she been this bad?’ Len whispered.
‘About a month, but she’s never had an episode as drastic as that,’ He squeezed his eyes tight to prevent the tears from streaming down his face. He had to be strong for Rose as well as himself. All he could do was shake his head in despair. ‘Placing my hand on her shoulder shouldn’t make her keel over like that and she overreacts to my most amiable wishes.’
‘Maybe it’s a one off.’ Len’s empty optimism was nearly insulting to Gerald.
‘You know that’s not true. We just need to be prepared. And to remember she’ll always be my Rose. She’s still in there somewhere and always will be.’
The kettle came to the boil but Gerald was already walking away so Len took it upon himself to make the tea. Gerald headed straight to his wife and leant on the back of her signature armchair. Rose strained her head to look into her husband’s eyes.
‘I love you.’ Gerald whispered.
‘I love you too, Gerald.’ He cherished these words. He never knew when it would be the last time he would hear those words spoken from her unpredictable lips.

Picture from: http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/