Jude

This pessimistic and rather brutal cinematic production is based on the nineteenth century novel Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy. A bowdlerized and altered version of that novel first appeared in Harper's New Monthly Magazine as a serial beginning in December 1894. Its original title was 'The Simpletons,' a title modern viewers of this movie might find appropriate considering how Jude and Sue round out their lives.

It need hardly be said that any motion picture, and certainly not one running only about two hours, can hope to do justice to Hardy's novel (his last, incidentally) which is about 180,000 words long (about 400 pages of dense text). An earlier TV mini series version made by the BBC that I have not seen, Jude the Obscure (1971), ran for almost four and a half hours in six episodes. But this is a pretty good movie anyway, highlighted by an enthralling performance by Kate Winslet.

The movie starts rather slowly, if picturesquely, until Kate appears and then the movie comes to life. I have seen Winslet in several films, including her first feature film when she was18-years-old, Heavenly Creatures (1994), an interesting film made in New Zealand based on a sensational matricide from the 1950s. She was very good in that film, her budding talent immediately obvious as the spinning, laughing, crazy teen who went off the deep end emotionally. In Jude, Winslet's sharp, confident and commanding style is given greater range and she comes across with a performance that is full of life, effervescent, delightful, witty, sly, clever, and very expressive, and she looks beautiful doing it.

The story itself, a naturalistic tragedy that in some respects anticipates Theodore Dreiser, et al., was considered immoral in its time. 'The Bishop of Wakefield, disgusted with the novel's insolence and indecency, threw it in the fire,' according to Terry Eagleton who wrote the Introduction for the New Wessex Edition of the book. Modern film goers will hardly notice the implied critique of marriage that offended Victorian readers, but they might find the scene where Arabella throws the pig's 'part' at Jude indelicate. Victorian readers found that scene most offensive. As a public service I want to warn any modern viewer who might be offended at seeing Kate Winslet naked to avoid this film. (Just Joking: Kate is quite fetching in the Rubenesque shot.) To be honest, though, this really is a tragedy that still has the power to offend some sensibilities. Certainly you don't want the kids to see it.

Christopher Eccleston plays Jude and does a good job, and Rachel Griffiths in a modest part plays Jude's first wife Arabella. Director Michael Winterbottom stayed spiritually true to Hardy's dark vision while tailoring the tale for modern audiences. There's a nice period piece feel and some charming cinematography. The denouement is well set up and so realistically done that we don't know whether to be horrified or outraged. I think I was both.

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The adage "a great novel rarely makes a great movie" is not as true as is supposed, but I'm sorry to say it's true here. Director Michael Winterbottom and writer Hossein Amini fail here because they fail to understand the town of Christminster, the town Jude loathes and yet wants to be accepted by so desperately. The town functions almost as a character in the novel, but here you feel nothing from it, and therefore the context for everyone's actions is removed. And except for Sue and Arabella(well played by Kate Winslet and Rachel Griffiths, respectively), the characters are underdeveloped). It looks appropriately dark, and the other actors are good, but I felt at the end like there was something missing.

This film has remained in my mind since the first time I saw it (back in the winter of 1997) and has earned its place as my favorite movie of all time; while not technically spectacular, commercially successful, or critically supported, it is both a wicked strike at oppressive Victorian morals, a sour commentary on the effects of religion on a society, and an extremely well-crafted love story about a relationship that endures years of torment on both sides and a horrible tragedy. Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccleston are the two best British actors working today (check out "Heavenly Creatures" and "Shallow Grave" if you don't believe me) and I applaud Michael Winterbottom for bringing this great book to the screen.

You can't discuss this movie without discussing the novel of the same name. The movie stays remarkably true to the novel; from character to location. If anything, the movie enhances the novel--through Christopher Eccleston's fantastic performance we see in Jude the light of desire and the crush of defeat.

Though another review characterizes Thomas Hardy's depiction of females as misogynistic, I disagree. The character of Arabella is certainly a villain at her heart, but the character of Sue Bridehead is a mirror of our tragic hero, Jude. Through their interactions, we see not only a stunning performance by Kate Winslet, but also a relationship of equals in misery. Certainly, the males in the novel and movie are depicted at least as wretchedly as the females.

This movie draws the viewer in and gives you insight into Jude's world, from it's optimistic beginning to its tragic end. Definitely not a date movie, but absolutely fine film-making.

I started watching this movie after having read the viewers' comments, so I was prepared for the depression inducing effect everyone kept talking about. Seems like you are never prepared enough for this movie. Sadness and tragedy are in the air right from beginning, you can feel them all the time, even when things start getting better for the two protagonists you know it can't last...because they are doomed, losers, not meant to be happy together. And yet the love they share is the purest and most devoting love I have ever seen on screen; it stunned me how true Jude was to Sue, and how brave Sue was, accepting Jude jr. as one of her own, no questions asked. Many people might find the scene of Sue giving birth and being watched by Jude jr. disturbing, yet it is essential to understand his later deeds, at least partly. The climax of the tragedy is so emotional and so immensely cruel it rips your heart out. I felt the theatre was falling into pieces and so were we, watching this emotional tornado, weeping like possessed. The experience of this movie will make you ponder life, love and death, it will make you understand how important it is to teach your children well and never make them feel undesired. It will make you realize how important it is to always think twice before commiting yourself, even in the modern world flooded with divorces. It will show you what it means to really love, completely and uncompromisingly. I highly recommend this masterpiece, a tale of two beautiful, unfortunate heros ahead their time, doomed by cruelest fate imaginable. 10/10