Under the Greenwood Tree

Under The Greenwood Tree is a very enjoyable film that tells the story of three men falling in love with a new teacher in the village. it shows how she changes within the story and it is a very good adaption of the novel by the classic author; Thomas Hardy. It is very strange watching this film when you live in jersey as all of the locations are familiar to you. I would have given a 10 but it didn't have the dog running through the may pole fair- which took a very long time to film as the dog was more interested in the chickens! Also i found the story moves quite quickly, but if it was made longer the audience may lose interest. at least this way you can finish watching it in excitement as it is a perfect drama for Christmas. it shows all the for seasons with great detail.

Filming Under The Greenwood Tree was a great experience and was the best summer of my life I made some good friends and thought all the crew was great. The film made me realise that the crew are the most important element to a film and i would just like 2 say thanks 2 them all! xx

I wasn't going to watch this, as although I'm a fan of Thomas Hardy,most of his stories have an unhappy ending,and i thought for Boxing Day i wanted to watch something cheery.I was really delighted as the drama was lovely from beginning to end,and it did have the ending you wanted to see.A lot of thought went into this drama,the costumes,the class stereotypes were well presented,it really put you in touch with how people lived in those days and their strange customs.The script was well written and the acting first rate.I have never read this book,but i have read others by Thomas Hardy,and it seems to me that here he has stuck to a much simpler story,without getting carried away with his pen or quill as he some times did,although that is just my opinion.I hope there will be many more dramas like this on TV,i thought this was an excellent choice to show on boxing day,i don't know how any one could have found fault in it,okay so it may not have been accurate to the book,but then what dramas are 100% accurate to the books.I think most people would believe this was a nice story to watch at Christmas.

Overall I liked this film: it was visually beautiful and the story was enthralling. The one criticism I have, and it is a big one, is that Keeley Hawes is miscast as Fancy Day. She is too old and world-wise. I understand she was born in 1977, which would make her 29 when playing the part. Hardy describes Fancy as "a young girl","oscillating between courage and shyness". At times the lines around Hawes' eyes and mouth give away her age, but the main failure is that she comes across as a self-assured, mature woman rather than an uncertain girl beginning her adult life, dominated by her father and dismayed by the attentions of three suitors.

Being in the mood for a period romance, I was a bit cautious when I realized this was an adaptation of a Thomas Hardy story. They tend to end unhappily, especially when there are divided love interests. Fortunately, Under the Greenwood Tree is light, even humorous, in parts. Truly I had no idea who Fancy would marry, the wealthy farmer, the austere parson, or the poor (yet brash and handsome) harrier. In the tradition of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, there is the mix of position, miscommunication, and the delightfulness of authenticity of period. A treat to watch. The acting, script, and setting all played well together. If you adore period romances, then this should go on your list to watch.

This is a gentle adaptation of one of Thomas Hardy's classic novels. The script is very well done by Ashley Pharoah, who despite his name is not an illiterate Egyptian who can't spell pharaoh properly, but a Somerset person, steeped in Hardy's country and perhaps cider as well, who knows. Keeley Hawes plays the young schoolteacher and organist named Fancy Day who gets all the local men excited by coming to town and casting her spell over them without even meaning to. There is nothing like one of those demure beauties to get Hardyesque men's hearts a flutterin'. A lot of the film was shot in Hertfordshire, which is shocking, considering how much there is of the West Country crying out for more Hardy adaptations to be made where they were meant to be. But as the Americans (WGBH) were involved as co-producers, they must have insisted on a budget which could not stretch as far as Wessex, not appreciating from their foreign perch the difference between the real thing and a substitute. Nick Laughland, primarily know as a television drama director, has done an excellent job of telling this story simply and with charm. The story also features the replacement of the church gallery orchestra with a harmonium, a theme stressed by Thomas Hardy more than once in his writings. It obviously greatly grieved Hardy that the charming old style of music in the country churches with violins and bass fiddle was suddenly eradicated by the rude intrusion of a device known as a harmonium, which is a kind of portable organ. This was one of the examples of heedless 'progress' wiping out centuries of the real thing and replacing it with something deeply inferior and humdrum. But as we are always being told by the politicians and business magnates that progress always equals improvement, who are we mere ordinary creeping creatures that we are to doubt such wisdom from on high and give way to cynicism? The portrayal of the little church orchestra here is a moving illustration of what was lost in transition. And as for the love story, well, that holds us in suspense till the end. Upon whom will Keeley Hawes bestow her heart? Will she marry for money and social position and wed the local squire? Will she wed the vicar and travel to Venice, which she has always longed to see? Or will she choose the earnest local boy who adores her? Three marriage proposals are made, but only one can succeed. Will she choose aright?