MovieChat Forums > Jane Eyre (2011) Discussion > "You rare, unearthly thing" - Hades and ...

"You rare, unearthly thing" - Hades and Persephone

posted 9 years ago by LifeVsArt
7 replies | jump to latest

There are many classic gothic elements in "Jane Eyre" - there's much that links it to gothic traditions, such as the writings of Ann Radcliff ("The Mysteries of Uldolpho", etc.), where a dark stranger seduces a pure, virginal heroine, drawing her into a chaotic underworld where she discovers love and sexuality. This has its roots going back to the greek myth of Hades and Persophone - these are classic mythic figures.

This is a beautifully done video that links the mythic Hades and Persephone to gothic love and sexuality in “Jane Eyre", "Crimson Peak" and "Stoker" – featuring Michael Fassbender, Tom Hiddelston, Matthew Goode, with Mia Wasikowska. Visual poetry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JX7cK7Qqqg

[–] rizdek 9 years ago

This is a beautifully done video

Concur wholeheartedly. Mia has become Jane Eyre in my mind. This is about the only version I watch anymore. The others pale in comparison IMHO.

Mia was good in Tracks too.

[–] LifeVsArt 9 years ago

Yes, I love "Tracks" - such a poetic film.

Not gothic, but beautiful. No moors, still lots of lonely, otherworldly landscape.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/still/tracks-image07.jpg

http://cs623817.vk.me/v623817292/1401d/vkC7Yf-4AB0.jpg

[–] mpboylanjr-54038 9 years ago

She good in everything. Even that stupid Maps to the Stars. I watched Jane Eyre just because she was in it. I've never read the book or knew what the story was about. Just that it was a story lol.

THERES NO ROOM IN MY CIRCUS TENT FOR YOU !!!!

[–] Mamabadger56 9 years ago

She really is good in everything. She practically made Maps to the Stars single-handedly.
I still plan to see Madame Bovary, in spite of terrible reviews, because I want to see what Wasikowska does with the part.

Basta, basta, basta.

[–] LifeVsArt 9 years ago

She practically made Maps to the Stars single-handedly.

YES. Agatha Weiss is a fascinating, twisted, but sweet avenging angel - a very tough, multi-layered part that Mia Wasikowska pulled off beautifully. I've watched Cronenberg's films going back to the earliest, and Agatha is for me one of his most ambiguous and complicated characters (especially when it comes to females). Bruce Wagner also has a very strong voice as a writer. If you ever get to see the UK dvd of "Maps" there are extra features (unlike the U.S. version) and Cronenberg has some very interesting and complimentary things to say re her characterization, and how he felt she pulled off something that was extremely difficult in a fearless, almost effortless manner.

Your other comments (on the threads below) re Jane Eyre, book and film adaptations, are beautifully articulated and insightful - it is a great book on so many levels (not a particularly original statement on my part). I hope as many people as possible get to read your observations.

You definitely should check out Sophie Barthes "Madame Bovary", and on as good a screen as possible - gorgeous cinematography, production design and costumes.

I want to see what Wasikowska does with the part.

A very good reason, indeed.

[–] Mamabadger56 9 years ago

Why, thanks. :)
I'm a big Cronenberg fan, so I actually liked Maps to the Stars, but Mia W. certainly improved it. I'll have to watch for the DVD you mention.

Sophie Barthes "Madame Bovary"

Thanks for the recommendation. I didn't even notice that Sophie Barthes had directed it! I just recently saw her only other feature film, Cold Souls, which she both wrote and directed, and which was uniquely weird. Now I'm even more interested in the movie.

Basta, basta, basta.

[–] LifeVsArt 9 years ago

WOW - So you've also seen "Cold Souls", that's wild (poor Paul Giamotti gets rid of his soul and ends up acting like William Shatner - how ironic). Barthes' Bovary is internal, with a feminine perspective, also very much an aesthetic experience - many will find it slow and dull, others haunting and beautiful (I belong to the later group). I'm a big Flaubert fanboy. Barthes is french born and I think she definitely has links to the french new wave movement, a touch of Agnes Varda in there, telling the story in images more than with dialogue. I'm also a big Cronenberg fan; he has an amazing body of work, and I, too, really enjoyed "Maps to the Stars" - if "enjoy" is the right word for it. And, of course, having been written by Bruce Wagner, "Maps" also has a greek mythological subtext - that film really is a blending of Cronenberg and Wagner's DNA.