12 September 2011
Newsdesk
Cary Fukunaga likes “timeless” movies.
The director is helming the 2011 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre. The film stars Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell and Judi Dench, and Cary had a thrilling time working on the much-loved tale.
The American star says the appeal for him lies mostly in the fact that the adaptation is ambiguous.
“I like films that feel like they’re timeless. In 20 or 30 years from now will people be able to identify that I shot it in 2011, or could it have been shot in the 70s'” he mused in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian.
“There’s something inherently universal about not only the storytelling but the execution.”
Jane Eyre has two male suitors in the novel, Edward Rochester and St. John Rivers. Cary believes it was important to tell the intricate details of both flourishing relationships throughout the whole film.
“One of the most difficult parts of telling Jane Eyre chronologically is that the last part of the story is a very slow but important part of Jane’s development as an individual. It’s where she meets this family who sort of saves her and finding a man, St. John Rivers, who could be a potential husband for her,” he explained.
“What happens in a lot of adaptations of the story is they sort of scoot through that part of the story because the central narrative is her and Rochester’s relationship. So I worked out a way to pepper that story across the whole structure.”
Mia stars in the title role and was instantly attracted to play the part. The actress was also shocked by the age of her character which was another reason for taking the role.
“I was really struck by the qualities of her personality. She’s really strong and really independent and has a very strong sense of who she is, and doesn’t compromise herself for anybody,” she explained. “It was a combination of all of that and then also realised she was 18-years-old, and I’ve always seen her in my mind as an adult, and it struck me that she was really young.
“I think if you take away the costumes and the period setting, it’s a very modern story.”
