MovieChat Forums > Jane Eyre (2011) Discussion > Fassbender as Rochester

Fassbender as Rochester

posted 8 years ago by hannibalroxmysox
3 replies | jump to latest

Unpopular opinion here but did anyone else find Michael Fassbender's interpretation of Rochester a bit...meh?
He's a phenomenal actor and I was actually pretty excited to see him as Rochester so perhaps it's simply a case of having too-high expectations but I actually didn't find him exciting to watch at all. In the novel he's described as being a very intense person, although of course he has to act reserved because 19th century. I didn't see much of that in this film and, when paired with Mia Wasikowska's wonderful performance of surpressed emotion, I found it a bit glaring tbh. When Jane meets St John it's just "oh great, another bland courtship" rather than any kind of contrast with the main love story. Anyone else feel this way?

Also, who would you like to see cast as Rochester in the next adaptation?

[–] LifeVsArt 8 years ago

I agree with you that Fassbender is an incredible actor - not sure why his performance of Rochester didn't register with you - people are wired differently I guess. I thought he projected a real fierceness and vulnerability. I loved both Fassbender and Mia in this film, loved their interactions, their give and take, their sensitivity, all the stuff going on behind their eyes. My favorite Rochesters are probably Fassbender and Timothy Dalton - I never could quite swallow Orson Welles in that role (maybe it was the fake nose and his grandiose, Shakespearean delivery). I thought 2011 was a great year for Fassbender - he gave three of his best performances, IMO - "Jane Eyre", "A Dangerous Method", and "Shame", where he got to play Rochester, a literary icon, Carl Jung, one of the founders of psychology and then capped it off with an unraveling, self-destructive sex addict.

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] LTUM (1033) 5 years ago

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