Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) [Blu-ray]
Drama

Carey Mulligan stars as a headstrong Victorian beauty in this sweeping romantic drama, based on the literary classic by Thomas Hardy. Mulligan plays Bathsheba Everdene, an independent woman who attracts three different suitors: a sheep farmer (Matthias Schoenaerts); a dashing soldier (Tom Sturridge); and a prosperous, older bachelor (Michael Sheen). This timeless story of Bathsheba's passions explores the nature of relationships, love and resilience.

Storyline: The story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), who attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching willfulness; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love - as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance. Written by Fox Searchlight

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, August 6, 2015 -- Baby Boomers or YouTube aficionados with a penchant for checking out cheesy old television will know The Dating Game drill: one charming and babelicious woman interviews three bachelors, sight unseen, and then chooses one of them to go a really exciting date to places like Venice (California, that is). This long running experiment in social engineering plied much the same territory as later entries like The Bachelorette, albeit more akin to "speed dating," with a few minutes of banter resulting in the "win," rather than the latter day show's more drawn out proceedings. Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is a headstrong "bachelorette" in a time when single women were viewed somewhat askance, something that is only exacerbated by the fact that Bathsheba doesn't seem all that intent on "remedying" her marital situation, despite the fact that over the course of Far From the Madding Crowd she will in fact entertain, in true Dating Game style, entreaties from three very different bachelors. In much the same way that authors like Jane Austen started to examine (then) contemporary society's attitudes toward women and their "rightful place" in such iconic works as Pride & Prejudice (a film version which also featured Mulligan), Thomas Hardy's original novel posited a woman who was definitely ahead of her time, unafraid to storm the bulwarks of various male dominated enterprises like managing a farm. While this adaptation doesn't much care for whatever in Bathsheba's background has made her the way she is, simply offering the character as something of a fait accompli, her determination and impetuous nature drives the narrative unabashedly forward through several traumas in both the agrarian and emotional arenas.

Thomas Hardy's novels are often incredibly dense reading challenges, one where seemingly minor characters will suddenly assume unexpected importance later in the proceedings (in a gambit that was frequently used by Charles Dickens), and with an attention to the rhythms of the natural world where the activities of humans are intertwined with the ebb and flow of the seasons and the challenges of a rural lifestyle. All of those elements are in play in Far From the Madding Crowd, and director Thomas Vinterberg establishes the link between the characters and their setting from the get go, offering an intriguing quasi-montage of Bathsheba communing with nature on a horse belonging to her Aunt. Bathsheba's iconoclastic nature is summed up brilliantly in a little throwaway moment where she's seen riding side saddle. She looks around, as if to see if anyone might be watching, and then assumes the typical masculine stance atop her steed before really taking off on a wild gallop across the beautiful English countryside.

Her first suitor is a neighbor of her Aunt's, a hard working farmer named Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts). The two seem well suited for each other, but Bathsheba is not one to easily submit to a male's prerogative, as she makes abundantly clear to Oak when he rather amazingly just ups and proposes to her one day (in a gambit that is repeated with another character somewhat later in the story). Oak has a huge spread and a thriving sheep herd, at least that is until a tragic turn of events leaves him destitute and on the road. Bathsheba, while perhaps dimly aware of Oak's fall from grace, has other, larger fish to fry, as she has become the sole inheritor of a rather large estate left to her by her late Uncle. In one of those convenient coincidences that tend to inform literary endeavors such as this, Oak shows up at Bathsheba's farm when a devastating fire is threatening to consume everything in sight. Oak's quick thinking at least saves the farm, and though both are a bit uncomfortable over their new "roles," Bathsheba takes Oak on as her new shepherd.

Next up in the courting situation is Bathsheba's new neighbor William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a well to do farmer who is a bit older than Bathsheba, but who seems to have honorable intentions toward her. Bathsheba makes a fateful decision one Valentine's Day that leads Boldwood to believe she cares for him, and (much like Oak did earlier) he simply blurts out a proposal to her one day, an offer which she of course demurs, though she at least offers to "think about it," perhaps due to the guilt she feels at having misled (however unwittingly) about her intentions. Oak knows what's going on and tries to both shame Bathsheba about her behavior and also perhaps forestall the inevitable due to his own feelings for her, but that strategy backfires somewhat due to Bathsheba's well articulated attitude that she obviously knows best.

The third "contestant" (as it were) is the dashing Sergeant Troy (Tom Sturridge), an officer who is more or less left at the altar by Fanny Robin (Juno Temple) when the addlepated young woman ends up going to the wrong church. This aspect, along with the whole character of Boldwood, is perhaps glossed over too hurriedly in this adaptation, missing crucial character beats which might have helped to better inform some of the plot dynamics. (In the book, Troy is much more obviously a wastrel from the get go than this version seems to at least imply.) More impetuosity on the part of Bathsheba leads to an unfortunate marriage and a series of cartwheeling events which ultimately delivers at least the potential for a happily ever after, one which had of course been staring Bathsheba in the face from virtually the first moment (of the film, anyway).

With the 1967 John Schlesinger film version of Far from the Madding Crowd having been relatively released on both a domestic and a British Blu-ray, memories (if faint to begin with) have no doubt been refreshed as to the sylvan splendors if fairly turgid pace of the Julie Christie outing. (There has been a fair amount of debate about which of these transfers is preferable, something else that may have increased general interest in the 1967 version.) This newest reboot speeds things along quite smartly most of the time, even if certain elements are elided in the process. What's so surprising about this version is how easily it at least matches and perhaps even occasionally erases the memory of the earlier film. Mulligan is simply incredible as Bathsheba, detailing not just the character's steely spine, but her intermittent surprise that she is actually pulling off a business enterprise by herself. The supporting cast is generally excellent, with the three suitors each making an undeniable impression. The film is often unbelievably scenic, with the rolling hills and manicured hedgerows of rural Britain becoming another character.

The 1967 version of Far from the Madding Crowd has always been something of a favorite of mine, even though I'm not immune to the criticisms often leveled at its length and generally languid presentation. I was immediately struck by how faithful to the spirit if not (every) letter of Hardy's novel this version was, and also grateful that aside from a few modern updates like "jiggly cam" moments adding supposed verisimilitude to sequences like the barn fire, this Far from the Madding Crowd was content to simply tell the story without a lot of needless bells and whistles. Performances are superb and the film is certainly scenic. With excellent technical merits and some enjoyable supplements, Far from the Madding Crowd comes Highly recommended.

[CSW] -3.4- The most recent adaptation of the Thomas Hardy classic novel Far From the Madding Crowd is also the shortest version, at about 2 hours. Carey Mulligan was terrific as the woman involved with three different men. Aside from this condensed version's feeling a little thin, it still has enough eye candy to please the period piece viewer: beautiful cinematography, costumes, and sets. Pleasantly scored.
[V4.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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