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Love Story For The Ages
Another cinematic adaptation of Jane Eyre?! With the release of the film on DVD and Blu-ray this week, director Cary Fukunaga discusses why it’s still as relevant as ever…
Charlotte Bronte's classic tale Jane Eyre is one that's been adapted to screen 18 times and the latest director to tackle the epic love story for the screen is Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre).
While some may question the need for yet another remake, the chemistry between Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender injects this latest adaptation with a burning intensity and Fukunaga's deft direction ensures the film's timeless appeal.
Is it true that you were interested in Jane Eyre before this project came to you?
Yes. The project didn't come to me, I sought the project out. At one point in 2007, I was interested in adapting the story on my own and I had a meeting with the BBC. They mentioned that Jane Eyre was on their slate and I asked to see the script. I liked the script and met with the writer and the producer, and it just happened really quickly. I also liked the idea of staying in London and making a movie there, so it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Is that how you normally find your projects, by seeking them out?
Yes, very rarely does someone show me something and I choose it. Usually I've ended up finding the things that I like. I think that's the way it has to be. Things find each other too, you just happen to have the right meeting. I'm not totally a fatalist, but I do kind of believe that if you're on the right path you kind of know it, like the signs are there.
Were you convinced Michael Fassbender was right for the role as soon as you met him?
I thought he was a star as soon as I saw him in Hunger. I was like, ‘This guy, there's no one else like him right now'. He was definitely my only choice.
What surprised you the most about Mia Wasikowska?
You never know what's going to happen on a set or what a performance is going to be like until you start shooting it. We were running out of time to shoot the last scene of the day where Jane meets St. John Rivers in the moor and says, ‘I'll go to India with you but I won't marry you.' It's an important scene and it's a dramatic scene. You see a bit of St. John Rivers' true side and we'd shot about three-quarters of the scene and it was a misty, overcast afternoon, and then suddenly the sun broke out and we had a lot more to cover. Mia was giving a lot to the scene, it was really emotional and we had to say, ‘Okay, we'll need to re-shoot a bunch of stuff' and she did it and just got better and better. She's tireless in that way, and maybe that's part of youth, but when she turns it on, it's just an incredible performance - and that was just day one!
Do you think the younger generation will become interested in Jane Eyre because of your film?
My cousin, Camilla, is thirteen and she came out to a screening. Her mom told me as soon as she finished watching the film that she went home and bought Jane Eyre and now she's halfway through the book and obsessed with it. So I think that it's one of those books that either it really moves you when you're young, or it doesn't do anything for you at all. I've had friends who are like, ‘I didn't like Jane Eyre, I thought Rochester was horrible and I didn't understand her decision in the end.' Then there are some women who are like, ‘That book just changed my life!' So it's good that it can be inspiring and get young women to read the book.
What makes this story a classic that keeps being re-told?
There's a very universal aspect to the story, just the whole nature and character of Jane facing so many challenges growing up, and to still end up being such a passionate, strong-willed adult who understands her own worth. I mean, you can ask this question in terms of what makes it modern and what makes it relevant: How many people today would walk away from an imperfect love to save their own dignity? So many people are so starved of love and companionship that they would never walk away from that and to have that strength makes her such an incredible sort of example.
Were you trying to put your own stamp on this film or be true to the material?
I'm way more attracted to classic styles of cinema. Even Sin Nombre for me was more a classic style of cinema. If you watch the film it's more like 1970s style, it was more like I was emulating a classic film than emulating City of God. So that was my inspiration, to be classic, not edgy.
Jane Eyre is available on DVD and Blu-ray December 8.
Picture caption: Cary Fukunaga, courtesy of Getty Images.
