Far from the Madding Crowd (PG-13)
11/06/15 19:59 Filed in: 2015
Starring: Carey Mulligan
May 2015
This review was originally tweeted in Real-time from the back row of a movie theater and appears @BackRoweReviews. Though efforts were made to tease rather than ruin this movie’s memorable lines and moments, some spoilers may exist in the following evaluation. The original tweets appear in black, while follow-up comments appear in red. For concerns over objectionable content, please first refer to one of the many parental movie guide websites. All ratings are based on a four star system. Happy reading!
No sidesaddle for Bathsheba. Independent indeed.
George doesn’t listen very well. Needs some obedience.
I just hate it when I speak too soon…
Sheep excel at charging over a cliff like lemmings. Unfortunately, they don’t fly.
Splat! What a heartbreaking scene. Apparently some sheepdogs just can’t live up to their name.
“It is my intention to astonish you all.” Mission accomplished.
All Mulligan has to do is stare at the camera and we’re astonished.
“I have no need for a husband.” Ouch!
A very uncommon and audacious declaration for the period in question.
Who can save the sick ewes? The guy you just fired.
Okay, I’ll come back on two conditions: 1. You give me a raise, and 2. You go out with me.
Superb duet between #CareyMulligan and #MichaelSheen.
Some truly fine singing and with only a piano for accompaniment.
“We understand each other.” More than you know.
Schoenaerts and Sheen’s characters have both felt the bitter chill of Mulligan’s cold shoulder.
“I will make amends.” Sure you will.
And Child is rubbed off on the coffin. Insult to injury.
The mummy baby scene is unnerving.
Like or respect?
A ghost from the past arrives on Christmas.
Not to be confused with the Ghost of Christmas Past from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
“I forbid you.” And they lived happily ever after.
At long last, Mulligan comes to her senses and actually picks the right guy. Third time’s the charm, I suppose.
Final analysis: a well mounted period piece with gorgeous vistas & superb performances all around.
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 4. Mulligan, Schoenaerts and Sheen shine in a film that’s far from ordinary.
Cut from the same cloth as an Austen or Bronte literary classic, Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd offers everything you’ve come to expect from this brand of Victorian Era period piece…but with a twist. Whereas many examples of English countryside dramas involve family intrigue, shifting loyalties and scheming mothers seeking to marry off their daughters, etc, this story flips the script by spotlighting a young, independent woman who has absolutely no desire to be married…an abnormal, almost transgressive, attitude to possess during the period in question. A common trope in the romantic fiction of the period is the love triangle, but Hardy serves up another narrative twist in this story: the love rectangle. The bulk of the movie centers on three suitors (Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen and Tom Sturridge), each of whom vies for Bathsheba’s (Carey Mulligan) affections. As would be guessed, the four main performers are all superb in their roles. If I had to hand out a gold star it would go to Michael Sheen, who plays Bathsheba’s wealthy neighbor, William Boldwood (wonder if it ever occurred to him that his last name might be contributing to his celibacy), to perfection. William taps into some superhuman reservoir of patience when maintaining a state of decorum and civility in the face of Bathsheba’s many rejections and indiscretions. After nearly two hours of rebuffed advances and mind games, fate finally nudges Bathsheba in the right direction (since she’s not savvy enough to choose the right man on her own) when two of her three admirers are eliminated from the competition during a tragic shooting, which secures prison for the one and death for the other. When fate conspires to such a degree, it must be kismet; and so Bathsheba finally approaches the last man standing, Gabriel (Schoenaerts), and reveals her feelings for him. Of course, Gabriel has been in such mental and emotional anguish over Bathsheba from the beginning of the movie—desperately hoping she’d recognize and return his love—that he walks toward the sunset with Bathsheba like a lamb to the slaughter, completely exhausted from his pursuit of her and entirely at Bathsheba’s mercy to do her bidding for the rest of his sheep herding days. I know it was written during a different time (and on a different continent), but part of me hoped that Gabriel would pull a Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind, 1939) and just keep on walking away from Bathsheba and her disreputable estate. Bathsheba should’ve been forced to learn the lesson that you can only toy with a man for so long before there are serious repercussions to your manipulations…reference long-suffering Eric Bana violently taking what he wants from scheming Natalie Portman in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). All things considered, Madding lives up to its name in how it draws out its excruciating tale of unrequited love, providing resolution and release only in the film’s final scene. If you like complicated, character-driven period pieces with superior performances and production elements, this film’s for you. If not, you might find the movie’s protracted love affair to be quite…maddening.