Far from the Madding Crowd

Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is an independent Victorian woman. Her neighbor sheep-herder Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) abruptly asks Bathsheba's hand in marriage and she politely declines. His herd falls off a cliff. Her uncle dies leaving his large failing farm to her. She hires Oak as her shepherd/manager. She impetuously plays a Valentine joke on her neighbor William Boldwood (Michael Sheen) and he asks to marry her. She rejects him and embarrasses him. Fanny Robbin (Juno Temple) worked for Bathsheba's uncle but ran away to marry Sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge). She mistakenly goes to the wrong church leaving Troy heartbroken. Bathsheba falls for the dashing soldier and marries him but soon finds that she has made a mistake.

Carey Mulligan delivers a brilliant performance as the nearly modern woman in a world still ruled by men. She's a complicated heroine and could be derided for her uncertain love life. The three men deliver the needed personality. Michael Sheen is probably the least like his distant socially awkward character. I would have liked the movie to concentrate more on Oak but that wouldn't be the story. This is a lovely addition to the classic.

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?

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.

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.

More accurately should be titled and presented as "Femme Fatale". Adaptation from literature to film allows for alternative interpretation; a differing emphasis on events and motivations; additions and deletions to make it a more contemporary, all this because film does not convey to an audience the same story as text from which it came. They are two different beasts. With that thought it's apparent that Everdene uses people to her own end. She will step on whomever if they are a hindrance to her self (ishness) means, whether Troy, Oak, Boldwood or any others. We see it repeatedly though out the film with her allegiance changing with the tide of fortune. Not to downplay or excuse the dogged pursuit by males, but more so then that they are just a product of their times.

The final whitewashing of this script's plot is the moral omittance of her not speaking up for Boldwood. Rescued from a threatening situation it is her testimony that could save a life, but as before she walks away. This script has her succeeding, but the film leaves little sense of the destruction she left in her path.