As big fans of Cary Fukunaga‘s debut “Sin Nombre,” we’ve been anticipating his follow-up, a new adaptation of Charlotte Bronte‘s classic novel “Jane Eyre” for quite some time. But it’s not been a home-run by any means: the novel’s been frequently filmed as it is, most recently by Zeffirelli in 1997, with Charlotte Gainsbourg in the lead role, and a 2006 BBC TV version starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. For all the talk of a fresh take (and the non-traditional hire of Fukunaga, whose first film wasn’t exactly a staid costume drama) would the new version be able to break some new ground?
With a trailer hitting Yahoo this evening, the answer seems to be ‘yes.’ While the surroundings and costumes may be a little familiar, the Gothic tone of the clip captures something from the book that’s so often missing from the adaptations — the film looks to be as close to a classic ghost story like “The Innocents” as to something like “Pride & Prejudice.”
If you bunked off high school English, the plot involves the titular troubled orphan, who, while working as a governess, falls for the brooding Edward Rochester, a man with a terrible secret in his house.
The cast includes Playlist favorites Mia Wasikowska as Jane, Michael Fassbender as Rochester, and Imogen Poots as Blanche Ingram, with Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins, Simon McBurney, Harry Lloyd, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Merchant and Holliday Grainger also cropping up.
The film hits theaters, via Focus Features, on March 11th next year — one of the few moments of concern, as surely if the film was top-notch, it’d be rushed into theaters for the awards season this year, or held back till next fall? But everything else we’ve seen looks enormously promising (the visuals are pretty gorgeous, particularly that closing shot), and we can’t wait to see the finished film.