Lejos del mundanal ruido

Far from the Madding Crowd, a well respected novel with an adaptation already to its name, hasn't got much new ground to cover. This 2015 film, starring Carey Mulligan, upholds the book's reputation. Bathsheba (Mulligan) is a headstrong farm owner who meets three possible suiters in a short space of time; Gabriel the farmer, William the nobleman and Frank the soldier. All bear distinctive qualities. All wish Bathsheba to marry them the moment they lay eyes on her. FftMC favours one man over the rest. We're smitten before even given the chance to decide. Mulligan's the charismatic, leading lady, making decisions that come at a price. Schoenaerts, Sturridge and Sheen add flavour to this period drama, their personalities and dialogue capturing what action cannot.

Greetings again from the darkness. If you have read Thomas Hardy's 1874 novel or seen director John Schlesinger's 1967 (and far more energetic) screen adaption starring Julie Christie, or even if you are a High School Literature student with the novel on your summer reading list, you will probably be interested in this more modern-day thinking approach from director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt). It's more modern not in look, but rather in the feminist perspective of Bathsheba Everdene (one of my favorite literary character names).

Carey Mulligan plays Ms. Everdene, and she is exceedingly independent and ambitious for the time period, while simultaneously being attractive in a more timeless manner. This rare combination results in three quite different suitors. She first meets sheep farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust and Bone), who is smitten with her spunk, and he proposes by offering her way out of poverty. She declines and the next time they cross paths, the tables have turned as she has inherited a farm and he has lost everything due to an untrained sheep dog. Next up is a proposal from a socially awkward, but highly successful neighborhood farmer. Michael Sheen plays William Boldwood, who is clueless in his courting skills, but understands that combining their farms would be a make-sense partnership. The third gent is Sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge), a master of seduction by sword. She is sucked in by Troy's element of danger, unaware of his recent wedding gone awry to local gal Fanny Robbin (Juno Temple).

As with most literary classics … and in fact, most books … the screen adaptation loses the detail and character development that make the book version so enjoyable. Still, we understand the essence of the main characters, and the actors each bring their own flavor to these roles. The story has always been first and foremost a study in persistence, and now director Vinterberg and Mulligan explore the modern day challenges faced by women in selecting a mate: slow and steady, financially set, or exciting and on edge. In simpler language, should she follow her head, wallet or heart?

This film, by the Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, is the first cinematic adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" since John Schlesinger's famous version in 1967. The story is too well- known for me to set out the plot at any length, but it revolves around the adventures of Bathsheba Everdene, a young female landowner in Victorian Dorset, and the three men who love her. These are Gabriel Oak, a humble shepherd, William Boldwood, a neighbouring farmer, and Frank Troy, a sergeant in a cavalry regiment.

Vinterberg has set himself a difficult task. Schlesinger's film was a landmark of British cinema, marking the beginning of what I have come to think of the "heritage cinema" style of film-making. In my eyes at least, and I suspect in the eyes of many others, it has become the definitive version; I cannot re-read the novel- it is a favourite of mine and I have read it several times- without picturing Bathsheba as Julie Christie, Gabriel as Alan Bates, Troy as Terence Stamp or Boldwood as Peter Finch.

Like Schlesinger, Vinterberg sticks fairly closely to Hardy's story, although of necessity some minor episodes have had to be omitted. There were one or two touches I didn't really care for, such as the scene where Troy grabs Bathsheba by the crotch. In the novel Hardy describes Troy's seduction of the young woman with great delicacy. This is not just a question of Victorian prudery, but also of psychological realism. A girl as independent and determined as Bathsheba would have resented such a crude approach; had Troy attempted it he would doubtless have got his face slapped for his pains. I also felt that this version rather inflated the social status of both Bathsheba and Boldwood. In the novel both are prosperous farmers, but nothing more. Here they live in the sort of style which would suggest she is the Lady of the Manor and he a wealthy aristocrat.

Hardy's novel is, among other things, a celebration of the English countryside, and this aspect is brought out well here. Like Schlesinger's, the film is visually attractive with some striking photography of the rural landscapes, often seen bathed in a soft, golden glow. On the acting side I was most impressed by Matthias Schoenaerts as Gabriel. His interpretation is rather different from Bates's, making his character perhaps more genteel and less rough-hewn, but still a man of great sensitivity and integrity. The Belgian-born Schoenaerts speaks flawless English with no hint of a foreign inflection, although it is noticeable that, unlike Bates, he does not attempt a West Country accent. Possibly wisely- English regional accents can be notoriously difficult for foreign-born actors.

On the other hand, I was less impressed by Tom Sturridge who makes an unmemorable Troy, lacking the roguishness and devil-may-care charm which Stamp brought to the role. Michael Sheen is better as Boldwood, but never quite matches Finch's desperate, nervous intensity. The difference, perhaps, is that Sheen's Boldwood is obsessed by Bathsheba whereas Finch's is almost literally possessed by her. Carey Mulligan has plenty of experience in films of this type, having inherited the crown formerly worn by Helena Bonham-Carter and Keira Knightley, that of Reigning Queen of Period Drama. She has been praised for her performance here, but personally I preferred Christie's rather more imperious and headstrong interpretation. Vinterberg's film is a generally solid, well- made piece of period drama, but for me it will not replace Schlesinger's as the definitive version. 7/10

"I am a woman. It is my intention to astonish you all." Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan)

Thomas Hardy would make a fortune today writing soap opera period pieces like Far from the Madding Crowd for HBO. That's a compliment because this film is done with such restraint (far fewer gratuitous country-beautiful shots and more close ups) that it could have been set in any era and the human condition would be the same.

Besides its fidelity to the spirit of Hardy's typically bright, tough farm girl ("I have an education. Nothing else"), class division, complicated loves, Far offers a heroine, Bathsheba (well-cast, crooked smiling Mulligan) far ahead of her time (See the above quote). Although she doesn't want for suitors, she doesn't want to be subjugated by a husband either ("being some man's property"). Katherine Hepburn could have played this role.

As life and Hardy would have it, chance and human nature have their own agendas, and Bathsheba makes bad decisions based on youthful passion and naiveté—Hardy, frequently a figurative scold, makes sure she pays amply for her mistakes before he sets the balance right between fortune and misfortune. His more famous Tess of the d'Urbervilles is the finest example of the strong-willed, suffering heroine, who, because of weak men, is mercilessly buffeted by the fates and her own weakness.

One of Bathsheba's suitors, the painfully shy William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), personifies the aging Victorian society, bound in property and loneliness; to her he importunes, "I want very much to protect you … for the rest of your life." However, the temporary prize of Bathsheba is given to the crimson-uniformed rake, Sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge), another character waiting for Hardy's punishment.

The obvious right guy for her is farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), whose steadfast love for the heroine could only be compared to Job's suffering. To her he always speaks honestly and lovingly: "I'm not going to tell stories just to please you. You can be sure of that."

Far from the Madding Crowd is a crowd pleaser. Hardy would have loved the adaptation.

I've never read the novel on which this is based but decided to give the film a try seeing as it featured the always very watchable Carey Mulligan and a screenplay by David Nicholls (One Day).

It may not please everyone but I think the director has managed to create a strong love story that allows the central character to develop throughout the two hour run. Mulligan captures every aspect of the character well and despite her making lots of bad choices we still stick by her.

Michael Sheen does well in his role and there are plenty of twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.

In this age of franchises and big blockbuster superhero nonsense it is refreshing that this film manages to tell a good story with a wonderful cast and hopefully will be enjoyed by many.