I've never associated Charlotte Bronte's classic
Jane Eyre with Gothic Horror (despite the odd moments in the novel) but director
Cary Fukunaga has notched up the ghost story aspects more than most in the first trailer for his film version and there's an unusually eerie tone here to the oft-filmed love story. Earlier this year I reviewed the
Blu-ray release of Jack Clayton's classic horror
The Innocents, and it seems to be evoking that mood over the usual corset/period/mansion romance. Also similiar is the gorgeous production design. I was a big fan of Funkunaga's debut film
Sin Nombre, but I did find it curious that he was to follow that up with Jane Eyre which had a perfectly fine adaptation as recently as 1996 with
William Hurt and
Charlotte Gainsbourg, but Fukunaga is promoting a 'bold new vision' here and I think he's got it. This one feels like it's bringing something new to the table. It may not be as radical as
I Walked With A Zombie (a remake of Jane Eyre as a horror movie, by all accounts) but I'm intrigued. There's a great cast in this one -
Mia Wasikowska (as Jane),
Michael Fassbender (as Rochester),
Imogen Poots (as Blanche) with supporting turns from
Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Sally Hawkins and
Simon McBurney.
Focus Features will release the film on March 11th, which probably means it ain't THAT good, as it couldn't be worse placed for awards season contention.