Jane Eyre

 Year:  2011

Director:  Cary Joji Fukunaga

Screenplay:  Moira Buffini, based on the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Starring:  Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins

Running Time:  120 minutes

Genre:  Drama, romance

19th Century England:  A tearful Jane Eyre (Wasikowska) runs away from Thornfield Hall, and lost, cold and hungry, she eventually collapses on the moors.  Jane is rescued by St. John Rivers (Bell) and his two sisters, Diana (Holliday Grainger) and Mary (Tamzin Merchant), who nurse her back to health.  As she recuperates, Jane remembers her unhappy childhood, as an orphan, treated cruelly by her aunt Mrs. Reed (Hawkins) and cousins, and later the brutal conditions at Lowood School for Girls. When she leaves school, at the age of 18, Jane gets a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall, and finds herself increasingly drawn to her brooding, enigmatic employer, Edward Rochester (Fassbender).

There have been many screen adaptations of Charlotte Brontë's beloved classic novel,  and this version, scripted by Moira Biffini and directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga is, more or less, a faithful adaptation.  However, while the book tells it's story in a linear fashion, the film opens with a scene that occurs late in the book and much of the story unfolds as a flashback.  Also a lot of sequences of the book, necessarily, had to be cut, this is notable in the scenes in Jane's childhood that seem kind of rushed, and the ending which feels quite abrupt, I was quite surprised when the end credits rolled because I was sure there was at least another scene to go.  Although I am saying that as someone who is a huge fan of the novel, it's one of my favourite books.  The film includes most of the book's important plot points and characters, and the omissions didn't spoil the film as far as I was concerned.  It is beautifully made, with the moods of wild, unforgiving nature; gothic gloom and mystery; as well as sun dappled romance all being perfectly conveyed.  Mia Wasikowska gives a great performance as Jane, capturing Jane's strong will, and conveying a lot with a passing look or the way she carries herself.  Michael Fassbender makes for a magnificently brooding Rochester.  It is an impressive production, and should satisfy devoted Brontë fans, as well as those unfamiliar with Jane Eyre.

Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre

 

A Dangerous Method

Year:  2011
Director:  David Cronenberg
Screenplay:  Christopher Hampton, based on the stage play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton, and the book A Most Dangerous Method by John Kerr
Starring:  Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Vincent Cassel, Sarah Gadon
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre:  Period drama, 

This is another departure from Canadian director David Cronenberg, after moving away from the blood drenched science-fiction/horror movies that made his name (such as Shivers (1974), Videodrome (1982) and The Fly (1986)), to violent crime and gangster movies (such as A History of Violence (2005) and Eastern Promises (2007)), to the restrained genre of the period drama (a genre which he had approached before with M. Butterfly (1992)).  Set in the early 1900s, the film opens when Carl Jung (Fassbender) treats a hysterical patient, Sabrina Spielrien (Knightley), using the controversial theories of psychoanalysis devised by Sigmund Freud (Mortensen).  The treatment appears to be successful, and Spielrien goes on to train as a psychiatrist herself.  Learning of Jung's success, Freud quickly befirends him seeing Jung as a potential disciple.  However Jung's interest in spirituality and the paranormal against Freud's stringent pragmatism and rationality, as well as Jung's interest in the beautiful but volatile Spielrien soon threatens their professional and personal lives. 

This elegant film is artfully directed by Cronenberg who photographs his characters in long, lingering shots, alsmost as if they are the subjects of his scientific study.  At first glance there is very little typically "Cronenbergian" about the film, no killer parasites, or exploding heads, no killer TV networks, or mutant insect creatures, or even people getting their kicks from car wrecks.  However, the ambivalent depiction of sex and sexuality as forces both essential and dangerous is very Cronenberg.  The film is slow and deliberately paced.  The cast are excellent, especially Keira Knightley who provides an astonishing depiction of a hysterical attack at the beginning of the film.  Vincent Cassel also gives a striking performance in a small role as an "unconventional" psychiatrist who advocates the therapeautic value of sleeping with the female patients.  The script is intelligent but also accessible to those viewers unfamiliar with Jung and Freud and their theories, and the period design is immaculate.

The film might be a little too slow-moving for some and it certainly demands a lot of attention from the viewer.  Also it might alienate fans of Cronenberg's more traditional movies.  In a way it is a pity that he seems to have abandoned his horror/science-fiction subjects, but every artist needs to progress and develop, and Cronenberg is one of the most consistently interesting directors working.  In the end this film is worth checking out for anyone interested in a little more intellectual drama.

It's all in the mind:  Keira Knightley and Michale Fassbender use A Dangerous Method

X-Men: First Class

Year: 2011
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Screenplay: Ashley Edward Miller, Jack Stentz, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, from a story by Sheldon Turner and Bryan Singer, based on characters created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Chris Claremont
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon
Running Time: 132 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, superhero, action

Summary: Poland, 1944: Young Eric Lensherr (Bill Milner) is put in a concentration camp and, being forcibly sperated from his mother, Eric's pain, rage and fear cause the metal gates to buckle and distend. The event is witnessed by Nazi scientist Dr. Schmidt who tries to force Eric to demonstrate his powers, however when Eric is unable to Schmidt forces him to watch as he kills his mother, which triggers a devestating display of Eric's power.
New York, 1944: Young Charles Xavier (Laurence Belcher) is fully comfortable with his telepathic abilities. One night he meets a young shapeshifter named Raven (Morgan Lily), who in her natural form is a blue-skinned girl with golden eyes, stealing food from the kitchens. Charles befriends her.
1962: Eric (Fassbender) travels the globe, using his power to manipulate metal objects in his search to find and kill Schmidt.
Charles (McAvoy), studying at Oxford University, achieves success with his thesis on mutation, while Raven (Lawrence), who is now his foster sister, is working as a waitress.
CIA agent Moira McTaggart (Byrne) discovers that Sebastian Shaw (Bacon) is the leader of a team of mutants and is playing both the USA and the USSR against each other in his plan for domination. She approaches Charles and Raven who join the CIA's covert mutant operation along with Eric who has discovered that Shaw is in fact Schmidt. Soon Eric and Charles are recruiting mutants for their own team to combat Shaw's. However, Eric becomes increasingly resentful of the fact that they are helping a world that both hates and fears them.

Opinions: This is the fifth feature film based on the X-Men comic books. It's a prequel to the other films and showcases how the X-Men came to be as well as the souring of the initial frienship between Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) and Eric Lensherr (aka Magneto). Magneto was always one of the most interesting "villains" in comics because it's hard not to feel sympathy for him and his motivations. A survivor of the Nazi concentration camps, he sees history repeating itself in humanity's attitudes towards mutants. Michael Fassbender gives a superb performance as the complex and tormented Lensherr.
As Charles Xavier, James McAvoy has a less interesting character to work with. He is perfectly comfortable and in control of his ability right from the start and his main character development is showing him turning from a feckless and egotistical student to become a more responsible, if still somewhat egotistical, leader.
The rest of the large cast doesn't really have much of a chance to shine, and the message of racial tolerence and prejudice is hammered home quite heavily, even though the film's only two black characters in one case is killed after about five minutes of screentime and is never mentioned again, and in the other case almost immediately swops sides to join the villains.
Despite this the film is hugely entertaining and benefits from a complex plotline that puts a fantasy spin on real world recent history. The special effects are spectacular and director Matthew Vaughn keeps the action moving along well despite the daunting two hour plus run time.
While falling short of being a great film, this is still a very good one and should provide plenty to interest and entertain non-comic fans. Also the fact that this film in the first in a proposed trilogy makes for a very enticing prospect.
Fans will probably notice Hugh Jackman appearing in a brief cameo as Wolverine.



Caleb Landry Jones, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy and Lucas Till in X-Men: First Class