Far from the Madding Crowd (from the director of The Hunt, starring Carey Mulligan)

[jvince]

Genre:
Drama

Synopsis:
A beautiful young woman maintains relationships
with three very different men.

Director:
Thomas Vinterberg
(The Hunt, The Celebration)

Writer:
David Nicholls

Stars:
Carey Mulligan
Matthias Schoenaerts
Tom Sturridge
Michael Sheen
Juno Temple

[Hucksta G]

Nice love both The Hunt and Festen

[Doctor Jack]

Carey Mulligan and Juno Temple in the same movie? Sold.

[Visco.]

Yes, this has been on my watch list since I saw The Hunt. Hope I'll get to see The Celebration someday as well.

Carey Mulligan is a goddess.

[MikeScott]

Can't wait. LOVED The Hunt and I adore Mulligan.

[jvince]

Mulligan is at her prettiest here. And I haven't seen Schoenaerts in anything before this, but I became an instant fan. Great actor with lots of charisma. He's like a European Ryan Gosling.

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by jvince

Mulligan is at her prettiest here. And I haven't seen Schoenaerts in anything before this, but I became an instant fan. Great actor with lots of charisma. He's like a European Ryan Gosling.

He was pretty good in Rust and Bone.

[Holmes]

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

[MikeScott]

Expands to 700-800 theaters next weekend. I hope it opens here.

[jacobsever]

Far From The Madding Crowd – a movie review by 6 year old MissObservation - YouTube

[MikeScott]

Opens here Friday.

[MikeScott]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Far From The Madding Crowd – a movie review by 6 year old MissObservation - YouTube

LOL. That's funny.

[MikeScott]

I loved it! Gorgeously shot and Mulligan is very lovely. Some beautiful imagery here. My only major complaint is that the story feels rushed. I feel like big chunks of the story must have been left out. It's already 2 hours but I feel like it needed to be longer. Too much happens in this amount of time.

But aside from that I enjoyed this a lot.

9/10 (A-)

[Britnasty]

FINALLY caught this tonight. When it was originally released theatrically, it seemed like it was gone after 1 week locally. Luckily the $2 budget theatre recently reopened after converting to digital projection and sound and to my surprise, as I was leaving dinner, I saw the film title on the marquee from the stop light. Checked the app and lo and behold there was a showing in 20 minutes lol

4.5/5.

I am a sucker for a British Period pieces and as an adaptation of a most splendid book, I found this to be a profound adaptation. Much like Pride & Prejudice, I find myself loving the newer adaptations more than the much older versions that are considered *the adaptation to see*.

Carey Mulligan was exquisite as Bathesheba Everdene. Carey has been hit or miss with me, her performances for me have ranged from perfection to cold and phoned in; this one might just be her best yet and has me looking forward to Suffragette in the fall even more so. Her chemistry with both Michael Sheen and Matthias Schoenaerts was fully believable.

Michael Sheen was my favorite here as William Boldwood. His scene between he and Matthias where he acknowledges that Gabriel is the one Ms. Everdene truly wants to be with was the true highlight for me. Sheen perfectly conveyed each and every emotion and the two were great in this once short scene.

I've only read the book once but I wanted more from the film. Certain sections were hacked out, presumably to not drag this into a 4 hour Gone With the Wind length epic, but as someone who fully loved the source material, I would've liked more. The ending was changed for the better; not that they changed the story but merely how it all comes together and I found it more poignant than how it happens in the book.

Definitely will be a day one Blu purchase for me.

[MikeScott]

Glad you loved it.