Interviews: Mia Wasikowska, Director Cary Fukunaga on ‘Jane Eyre’

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CHICAGO – According to IMDB, there are over 20 film and TV versions of the Charlotte Bronte novel, “Jane Eyre.” Director Cary Fukunaga (”Sin Nombre”) and lead actress Mia Wasikowska (”Alice in Wonderland”) take on the latest remake of the literary legend.

There is a nice twist in this one, as it is told in flashback from a point deep in the original novel. The screenplay by Moira Buffini gives director Cary Fukunaga ample room to create a reflective Jane Eyre, led by the performance of the by Mia Waskiowska as title character. The film has terrific performances and an unexpected scope that fleshes out the conflicts of the famous character.

The Arrival: Mia Wasikowska in ‘Jane Eyre’
The Arrival: Mia Wasikowska in ‘Jane Eyre’
Photo credit: Laurie Sparham for Focus Features

HollywoodChicago.com got the opportunity to speak with both Mia Wasikowska and Cary Fununaga when they were in Chicago promoting the film.

StarMia Wasikowska, the Title Character in “Jane Eyre”

Mia Wasikowska (pronounced “vash-i-kov-ska”) had made a big noise in her career so far. The 21-year old actress has had a high profile since she appeared as Sophie in the HBO series “In Treatment” in 2008. After performing opposite Hal Holbrook in the acclaimed 2009 independent film “That Evening Sun,” she landed a huge role as Alice in last year’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which was followed up with a featured role in “The Kids Are All Right.” She follows those performances with Jane Eyre, and spoke about the challenges of playing such a well-known persona.

HollywoodChicago.com: What struck you in the novel about Jane that you wanted to communicate during filming?

Mia Wasikowska: She’s a very original character and has a strong sense of self and who she is, she doesn’t compromise herself for anyone. And there is something inside her that believes she is worthy of having a good life and being treated well. I think that is really admirable.

HollywoodChicago.com: What elements of the 19th century Jane do you want to project to a 21st century audience?

Wasikowska: At the core, she is a very modern character, if you were to take away the costumes and the setting. The story is familiar to an audience now, which is why the novel has lasted a long time, never wavering in its popularity and continuing to be read. It’s a young woman trying to find a connection, love and a family, in a very dislocated, isolated world. That should be enough for identity to a modern audience.

HollywoodChicago.com: Your chemistry with Michael Fassbinder was evident on the screen, what impressions did he make as you got to know him on the set?

Wasikowska: It was great, we had a lot of fun. We were able to counter the intensity of the material with a lot of just playing around. Then we channeled that energy into the intensity of the scene. I have a lot of respect for him, and it’s so easy to act with someone that is so present, like he is.

Starcrossed: Michael Fassbinder as Edward Rochester and Mia Wasikowska in ‘Jane Eyre’
Starcrossed: Michael Fassbinder as Edward Rochester and Mia Wasikowska in ‘Jane Eyre’
Photo credit: Laurie Sparham for Focus Features

HollywoodChicago.com: Do you see a through line between Alice, Joni from “The Kids Are All Right” and Jane?

Wasikowska: Yeah, I’m sure there is definite connections. I see them all as different characters, but in terms of Alice and Jane, who are from a similar time period, they both are modern characters for their time. That is why, I think, they are so beloved and continue to be explored. There is a complexity to them, they have a lot of layers, a lot of different things going on. Like on the film “That Evening Sun,” that was something I hadn’t done before. I like doing things that challenge me or what I haven’t done before.

HollywoodChicago.com: You’ve now played two iconic literary figures. What is alive in Alice and Jane that you think keeps different forms of art constantly interpreting them for new audiences?

Wasikowska: I love personally seeing how different people interpret the same character, and seeing the parts that people choose to include, and what they do with it. That says a lot about our time, and each re-interpretation is like a time capsule. I think that is what the arts are for.

HollywoodChicago.com: Like Alice in Wonderland, what do you think are the six impossible things that has occurred in your life that has brought you to this point? You don’t have to name six…

Wasikowska: My own impossible things? There are a lot of impossible things that have surprised that have happened. Being able to do what I do seems impossible, and was impossible. It was a different world when I was younger, and not anything that I thought could happen. Being able to act as a career is something I love, and it still seems impossible to me.

StarCary Fukunaga, Director of “Jane Eyre”

The director Jane Eyre couldn’t have found a more contrasting project after his first highly praised feature film, “Sin Nombre.” That film focused on the circumstances of Mexicans crossing the border to the United States. The gritty and harsh setting of the immigrant circumstance is miles away from the 1800s life of the British Jane Eyre, but Fukunaga imbues both films with a distinct touch.

HollywoodChicago.com: The screenwriter used a flashback technique by starting at a point further into the novel. How did that approach help you or free you as the director of the narrative?

Cary Fukunaga: What it does, in a very elegant way, is allow you to tackle the third part of that novel, which is often a difficult narrative hump to get over. By peppering it about the course of the film, you can stay faithful to the novel and actually show that part of the story, which is often cut in other versions or amalgamated into other characters. You can remain faithful to it and still tell a compelling story with a structure that starts out with a mystery and hopefully keeps you engaged all the way through.

HollywoodChicago.com: With that structure, there seemed to be more focus on that latter part of the novel, which takes place with St. John Rivers [Jamie Bell] and his sisters. How did that figure in the overall story?

Fukunaga: There is a lot of coincidence in the novel that gets you to the end. But what is really important is how you define Jane. This is her story and she needs to make decisions, and in this case she is given an opportunity, once we establish that relationship with St. John Rivers, to decide if she wants a fate with his sisters, or a fate in India married to him or to return to Edward Rochester. It’s more faithful to the novel and makes her much more interesting, and a lot of coincidences brings her to the end. That choice defines who she is.

HollywoodChicago.com: Jane Eyre, of course, is much different than your previous film, ‘Sin Nombre.’ How did you approach the film differently than your previous tale of immigration?

Fukunaga: The same, really. You have a story, you have an idea of how you’re going to tell it in your head. All the elements of filmmaking are exactly the same. In fact, there are a lot of thematic elements between the character of Sayra in Sin Nombre and the character of Jane, in terms of people who have had a difficult past, and have not had the most caring of upbringing. What they desire in life is companionship, and their place in the world with a new family. That’s what Jane is all about.

Obviously it is a different shoot from being on top of trains in contemporary society versus corsets, crinoline, horses and those kind of things. But in a way those are superficial differences rather than a fundamental difference in filmmaking technique.

Feather in his Cap: Cary Fukunaga on the set of ‘Jane Eyre’
Feather in his Cap: Cary Fukunaga on the set of ‘Jane Eyre’
Photo credit: Laurie Sparham for Focus Features

HollywoodChicago.com: How did you happen to come across Jane Eyre as your project after Sin Nombre?

Fukunaga: The 1944 film by Bob Stevenson and the novel were definitely childhood favorites of mine. I thought about adapting it myself while Sin Nombre was going into production. Later, when I was in the UK doing promotion for Sin Nombre I found out that BBC films had a Jane Eyre project on their theatrical slate. I asked to read it, liked what the script was doing, and asked to meet the producer and the writer. I told them I liked their project, and they told me they liked me.

HollywoodChicago.com: What surprised you about the novel Jane Eyre when you were visiting it in preparation for taking on the ‘bringing to life’ of the classic characters?

Fukunaga: My style of filmmaking right now is that it should feel authentic, as if it’s happening now. Therefore, language comes into play, because the language of Bronte’s time is so specific. Actual words, adjectives and adverbs are so specific then they are now, although we recognize the words, they are very rarely utilized the way that they are in Jane Eyre. To make that sound natural is a challenge for anyone. There was a lot of distilling, to find a balance between the literary version of what Bronte is saying and what would the actual dialogue version be. And that went back and forth, that wasn’t in the first version of the script. It also came out in prep and pre-production, Mia would have sections of the book underlined…

Wasikowska: There was a lot of translating, like you read the scenes and the language of the time is so poetic and elaborate, and we don’t use that language anymore. So a lot of it we would go through and ask, ‘what does this mean?’ What are they talking about? So a lot of it was decoding another language. Once we understood the meaning of it, we could own it a bit more.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did you approach the character of Edward Rochester, since there has been so many interpretations beforehand?

Fukunaga: I hadn’t seen that many versions. I know the version I mentioned before, and I know the book. I felt like what I read in the book, despite how Bronte describes him, that the most important thing for him is spirit. The essence of who the actor is and what they bring to the role.

Rochester is a bit wild, mercurial and dangerous, and has had a incredible emotional tragedy early in this life which has affected the way he lives and operates. There is also something naturally wild about Michael Fassbinder that he brings to the film. As far as naturalistic directing, both Mia and Michael are very truthful actors, meaning they bring their performances from some other version of themselves.

HollywoodChicago.com: Having worked with non-professionals and children before in Sin Nombre, how was it directing Romy Settbon Moore, who was both?

Fukunaga: Romy was plucked straight out of a school, she had no acting experience whatsoever. I saw a tape audition where she did the scene where she’s introduced to Jane for the first time, and she was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted to cast for that role [Adele]. It’s difficult when kids don’t have the craft, so the performance relies on them being comfortable on set. She was nervous at first, but then as she got used to the process, she was fine.

HollywoodChicago.com: How do you deal with the spooky elements of the story, for example, the surprise that Thornfield Manor contains?

Fukunaga: My interpretation of the novel is that it’s a spooky story. It’s the kind of story that people would read by the fireplace and been spooked about. That needs to be there in the story, and it’s difficult managing that and the romance parts. They are very different emotions. It becomes more of a tone than a genre, and that’s how I approached it.

HollywoodChicago.com: Back to Sin Nombre, what elements in your personal life prepared you to write the movie, and what parts of your character related to the characters in the film?

Fukunaga: Besides my gangster past? [laughs] I grew up in Oakland near gang territory, so I remembered that. But really I just go where the wind takes me, I don’t say no to opportunities that interest me. So when I did the short film, and there was an opportunity to make a feature film, I went and did the research. That research resulted in Sin Nombre. That film brought me to the UK, where I heard about Jane Eyre, and ended up doing that film. I really don’t have a strategy, maybe I should. [laughs] Other than doing what sounds interesting, and you also have to know that you’re basically going to give two years of your life to something. Whatever the common link between them, will probably be determined over the course of more films.

“Jane Eyre” continues its limited release in Chicago on March 18th. Check local listings for show times and theaters. Featuring Mia Wasikowska, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins, Jamie Bell and Michael Fassbender, Screenplay by Moira Buffini, directed by Cary Fukunaga. Rated “PG-13”

HollywoodChicago.com senior staff writer Patrick McDonald

By PATRICK McDONALD
Senior Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

© 2011 Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

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