Jane Eyre

The new film of Jane Eyre may be the best adaptation of the book ever made. Not that I have seen all of the previous adaptations, or even read the book, but this is a very good film. Mia Wasikowska, who was Alice in Tim Burton's recent adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, really does transform herself into Jane. Michael Fassbender is Mr. Rochester, and Judi Dench is Mrs. Fairfax.

Any film with these three actors would have to be good. Add to that, this film has a great script. The cinematography is done mostly with muted colors, but that really works with the tone of the story. I liked the score so much that I went home and bought a copy of the soundtrack. Something I rarely do. Scored by Dario Marinelli, who won an Academy Award for his score for Atonement, it is mostly done with sparse and haunting orchestration.

Here is a featurette. I would say that the scenes included in the trailer are all of the most melodramatic of the film. Most of the rest of the film is a lot more restrained.