David
Pure Phase
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:33 am Posts: 34865 Location: Maryland
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
Danish art-house director Thomas Vinterberg delivers a rousing interpretation of the seminal Thomas Hardy novel Far from the Madding Crowd, one as sumptuous in its aesthetic as it is focused and taut in its construction. I say taut in part because it is around 50 minutes shorter than the version John Schlesinger directed in the late 1960s with, among others, Julie Christie and Terence Stamp, excising certain veins of roadshow-era pageantry indulged to memorable result by Schlesinger. I consider both adaptations perfect films, and they complement rather than replace or feud with one another in my mind. In only one area, mentioned below, do I have a clear preference.
For those entering the new film uninitiated, the well-known story of romantic indecision amidst an agrarian set in Victorian England turns on Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan), a beautiful and headstrong woman with a fierce sense of independence. She turns down an earnest, if impulsive proposal from local shepherd Gabriel (Matthias Schoenaerts, a chiseled and riveting brooder) and soon after inherits her uncle's fortune and farm, resulting in a level of agency rare for any 19th-century woman. There, she enters the orbit of two other men: a volatile soldier (Tom Sturridge, decently glamorous and narcissistic, but nowhere near as smoldering and vividly masculine as Stamp) and a well-established landowner (Michael Sheen) reserved to the point of emotional constipation and prone to confusing what he covets with what he loves. Gabriel, too, returns to her, his social standing diminished by tragedy, but his sense of calm and respect for the natural world still in place. As she strives to prove herself as the head of the farm, Bathsheba flirts with and evades the men, drawn to each in turn, yet afraid of losing her identity and influence.
With his heroine Bathsheba, one could argue Hardy created an early feminist character, and this film smartly foregrounds such a notion, and the result is tender and, in a curious way, buoyant, even as the story winds through grim twists and turns. It is the tale of a lust-driven proposal gone awry and the trials and tribulations which ultimately bring the lovers together again, both wounded, but also renewed, enlightened, empowered, and on a more level playing field. The film also honors the novelist's fascination with the land and humanity's choice to either try to conquer the earth or simply live in tandem with it. Largely shot on location in Dorset, the birth place and chief inspiration of Hardy, it is a gorgeous production in every way, from the sweeping locales (anyone claiming the horse-riding sequences are not swoon-worthy is without a pulse) to the most minute costuming or staging detail. The dialogue, the intrigue, is never far removed from a tactile sense of life under the sun in a field. And the cast is outstanding, led by a radiant Mulligan, embodying Bathsheba at her most courageous and at her most vain with equal clarity and grace, and further highlighted by a particularly transfixing Sheen, heartrending as an individual whose outward steel resolve only thinly disguises a fragility inviting self-destruction.
A
_________________1. The Lost City of Z - 2. A Cure for Wellness - 3. Phantom Thread - 4. T2 Trainspotting - 5. Detroit - 6. Good Time - 7. The Beguiled - 8. The Florida Project - 9. Logan and 10. Molly's Game
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thompsoncory
Rachel McAdams Fan
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:13 am Posts: 14544 Location: LA / NYC
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
This was decent, but also disappointing. Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts were both great and the scenery was lush and gorgeous, but the whole thing felt unusually rushed. Various events would happen with almost no development and it ultimately lessens the impact. It also makes no sense why Mulligan's character would even show an interest in the two other romantic interests after her characterization as this feminist free-thinker at the beginning (in terms of the performances behind these characters I found Tom Sturridge incredibly bland and Michael Sheen decent in an underwritten role). The whole thing also gets a little soap-opera-esque by the end with the twist involving Sturridge's character. Juno Temple is wasted in a role that serves little purpose. It's worth seeing, but far from some sort of masterpiece. B-
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Renton
Iron Man
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2004 9:15 pm Posts: 622
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Re: Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
I was unfamiliar with the novel or the previous film based on this story, so I thought it would be conventional, and a lesser entry in the British romantic period drama genre. I guess my low expectations elevated my enjoyment level. It is a very well shot film; the cinematography is to die for and the directing is a surprise (considering the director's previous features were The Celebration and The Hunt). Carey Mulligan is predictably superb, and I enjoyed Matthias Schoenaerts (in a very different role from Bullhead) and Michael Sheen. At some points the storyline does feel abbreviated in a way, as if the editor was trying to keep the running time under control, but that does not diminish its impact. A-
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