Director: Thomas Vinterberg
Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge
Based on the novel of the same title by Thomas Hardy, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD has once again been adapted for the screen, this time by David Nicholls (ONE DAY, GREAT EXPECTATIONS, TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES). If you're unfamiliar with the book, the plot like goes like this;
In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
********************************SPOILER ALERT**********************************
Or as I like to put it, independent and headstrong girl charms the pants off three different men, marries the worst possible one, torments the most appropriate one, and friend-zones the one she really loves. Then everything falls apart and **SPOILER ALERT** she realises she was wrong the whole time.
I know this story very well, I loved English Lit and did a fair amount of reading, this version was pretty pared back, far less angsty than the original story, and with a lot less heart. That being said, it was well directed, and the casting is superb. Carey Mulligan plays Bathsheba Everdene and palys her well. She is astoundingly beautiful, wistful, kind and plays the independent woman well. Matthias Scoenaerts, does justice to Oak, he's easy on the eye *wink*, and you can see the underlying love in his eyes the whole film (even if Bathsheba can't). Sheen and Sturridge, are a little flimsy in comparison, but they are still good even if slightly mismatched.
Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene
image via Fox Studios
The film is a pretty looking period piece, and I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time. What I did feel was that the film didn't do the book justice. I think it suits the general audience, it's a nice story, with a fantastic love triangle, but for the literary fan it doesn't quite hit the mark.
Everdene and Oak
Everdene and Troy
Everdene and Boldwood
images via Fox Studios
The relationship between Everdene and Oaks, is the one that needs to be right in this film as it is the stallwart of this whole story, and they do get it right. The tension between them - love, hurt, regret - it's there the whole time and palpable. Unfortuantely the other relationships don't have room in this film to blossom the way they should and it's a crying shame.
Everything we know about Everdene crumbles in the scene where she falls for Troy and it shouldn't . The reason she falls for him in the book is tied greatly to his sexual magnetism and the fact that he is the one man that doesn't need her. All it takes in the film however is a fancy bit of sword work and a kiss. I found that greatly disappointing. The same goes for Sheen's Boldwood. The fact that Everdene doesn't love him is irrelevant, she is the precious treasure that he can't have and he will do everything in his power to get her. He doesn't care that she doesn't love him, he just wants her. The film doesn't give Sheen the room to breathe that obsession, and he has the talen to have managed it, and managed it well.
Everdene and Oak sharing a tender moment
image via Fox Studios
If you're after a nice period piece with a feel good ending then FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD could be for you. In my opinion, I wouldn't spend the 20-something dollars on it, but rather wait for it on DVD.
2.5 out of 5
xoxo The Blonde Bombshell
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