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

 

Belfast

Year: 2001

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Kenneth Branagh

Starring:  Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan, Jude Hill

Running Time:  97 minutes

Genre:  Drama

Belfast, 1969:  Nine year old Buddy (Hill) lives with his family in a close knit working-class Protestant neighbourhood.  One day rioters violently attack the homes of the few Catholic families that live on the street.  Buddy's father (Dornan) who works in England, and is only able to see his family once every two weeks, believes that Belfast is becoming too dangerous and wants the family to emigrate, however Buddy's mother (Balfe) doesn't want to leave her home and also doesn't believe they have the means, due to the family being under severe financial pressure.  As tensions escalate, both at home and on the street, Buddy is also preoccupied with the business of being a nine year old boy, playing football on the streets, reading comics, going to the beloved local cinema, and trying to get the seat next to the prettiest girl in class.

The film opens with colour images of present-day Belfast before moving back in time to a monochrome 1969, telling the story of growing up as The Troubles escalate.  The Troubles have featured in numerous films and television series, from The Crying Game (1992) and In the Name of the Father (1993) to Derry Girls (2018- ).  After the riot at the beginning of the film, the streets are barricaded and soldiers guard the area, also sinister local criminal Billy Clanton (played by Colin Morgan) demands that local residents join in the fighting, either actively or with money.  Buddy's father adamantly refuses to join, and Billy becomes increasingly threatening and violent.  However, the focus of the film is not really the Troubles, but Buddy and his family, in amongst all of the tension they live their lives, argue over money, share jokes, go to the cinema, and the children play in the streets.  The film is very funny, and often extremely moving.  There are fantastic performances from Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan as Buddy's parents, and warm performances from Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds as Buddy's loving grandparents.  Special mention however has to be given to newcomer Jude Hill who plays Buddy, and gives a wonderful performance.  The film is mostly in crisp black-and-white, however when Buddy goes to the cinema everything bursts into colour, which is a wonderful way of depicting the magic of film.  Kenneth Branagh, who wrote the script based on his own childhood experiences growing up in Belfast, is a prolific, if uneven, director, but he has made some excellent films and this is among his very best.

Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie in Belfast

All Is True

Year of Release:  2018

Director:  Kenneth Branagh

Screenplay:  Ben Elton

Starring:  Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Kathryn Wilder, Lydia Wilson, Ian McKellan

Running Time: 101 minutes  

Genre:  Biography, drama

In 1613, the Globe Theatre burns down due to an accident during a performance of William Shakespeare's play Henry VIII (also known as All Is True).  Retiring from writing, Shakespeare returns home to Stratford-upon-Avon, and his wife Anne (Dench) and daughters Susanna (Wilson) and Judith (Wilder), as well as the memory of his deceased son, Hamnet.

This low-key, melancholy film takes place over the last three years of Shakespeare's life.  It's written by Ben Elton, who is best known for comedy such as the Blackadder series (1986-1989) and Upstart Crow (2016-current), which is also about Shakespeare and covers some of the same territory as All Is True.  However this is completely different in tone, and is definitely not a comedy.  The film deals with the difficulty of being close to a genius, it seems to be that Shakespeare is so used to putting words in characters mouths, he can't really deal with real people who don't always do what he would like them to do.  The acting is great, particularly from Branagh, and there is a short but memorable appearance by Ian McKellan as Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare dedicated several sonnets and other poems.  Powerful, and at times deeply moving, this is certainly worth more attention that it has received.

Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh, Lydia Wilson and Kathryn Wilder in All Is True

         

J. Edgar

Year:  2011
Director:  Clint Eastwood
Screenplay:  Dustin Lance Black
Starring:  Leonadro DiCaprio, Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Damon Herriman, Ed Westwick, Jeffrey Donovan
Running Time:  137 minutes
Genre:  Drama, biography

This film tells the true life story of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.  In the 1960s, Hoover (DiCaprio) dictates the story of his rise to power to a succession of young agents.  In 1919, a 24 year old Hoover makes a mark by targeting alleged Communists after a series of letter bombs are delivered to prominent politicians and public figures in Washingotn D.C.  After being appointed Director of the Bureau of Investigation, Hoover's scientific methods of criminal investigation are brought to bear in the high-profile Lindbergh baby kidnapping case.  However, in the 1930s, when the FBI declares war on the "public enemies" (famous gangsters and bank robbers such as Al Capone and John Dillinger), Hoover becomes a household name.  However as time passes Hoover becomes increasingly paranoid and obsessed with surveillance, building up bulky covert files on countless American citizens (both guilty and innocent).  At the same time he is troubled by his repressed homosexuality, and desire for his best friend, Clyde Tolson (Hammer).

This is a film which is easier to admire than like.  It boasts a strong central performance from DiCaprio who has the difficult task of portraying a complex man from his mid-twenties to late seventies, it is well shot with immaculate production design and period detail.  Visually the film employs a palette which seems to bleed all the colour from a scene making it look virtually black-and-white.  For a film that mostly takes place in gloomy, cavernous offices, it gives it an appropriately somber look.  However, the film suffers trying to pack in seven decades of American history into about two and a quarter hours, which means that many important and interesting elements are either skipped over or ignored entirely (most notably Hoover's relationship with Melvin Purvis, who was at one time the FBI's number one agent  and became famous for shooting John Dillinger.  However, allegedly jealous at Purvis' fame, Hoover turned on him).  Another problem that the film has is the prosthetic make-up for when the actors play their older characters, DiCaprio's is fine, but Hammer's just looks comical, like a rubber mask.  Also the film is very slow at times.  Hoover promoted an image of the sharp-suited, square-jawed, clean-cut, gun-toting FBI "G-Man", but he himself was a man who spent his career behind a desk, and much of the film is basically people talking in offices.  Action is kept to a minimum, and that which there is strongly hinted to be a product of Hoover's own self-mythologising.

For a man who was preoccupied with the private lives of others, and was always hungry for fame and publicity,  Hoover kept his own private life a closely guarded secret.  The film makes it pretty clear that Hoover was gay but very deep in the closet.  In one chilling scene, Hoover tries to explain to his mother (Judi Dench) that he is not interested in women and his mother harshly responds that "I would rather have a dead son than a daffodil for a son."  One of the most famous rumours about J. Edgar Hoover was that he was a transvestite, although this has since been discredited.  It's not even mentioned in the film. 

A film that is so focussed on it's central character means that the other characters rarely have much of a chance to make an impression.  Armie Hammer is impressive as Hoover's close friend, Clyde Tolson, which the film depicts as having  along term almost-romance with Hoover, Naomi Watts is underused as Helen Gandy, Hoover's long-serving secretary and Judi Dench gives a good perfomance as Hoover's sour, deeply religious mother.  DiCaprio plays Hoover with sympathy and sensitivity, no matter how unpleasant the things he does.  Hoover comes across as a bully and a power-hungry manipulator, who would do everything and anything to get what he wanted.  However, it is a testament to DiCaprio's skill and the film's script that Hoover emerges as a sympathetic, if not likeable, character.

This is an interesting enough movie, and makes a good attempt to explain an extremely complex man.  In fact, it is good enough that it is really frustrating that it is not better.

Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar