Trishna

I am indebted to Sarya-Jayothsna who's review of Trishna certainly helped me to identify with the movie. Having only been to New Delhi and never experiencing rural India I had little idea at to what might be considered "normal" in such an environment.

I have always admired the sultry beauty of Indian women and Freida Pinto (as Trishna) added a much deeper aspect to my admiration. The total subservience that she displayed when working at her first job in the Jaipur hotel was delightful - every male was addressed so beautifully demurely as "Sir" with the typical Indian hand gesture of obeisance. The skill with which her manners were conducted was, far from being demeaning, an absolute pleasure to the extent it made me want to reciprocate (had I been there, of course). Far from placing Trishna into a position of being "used," I felt that it inspired a desire to treat her with the same respect that she gave to others. I guess, as a man, I would interpret that as making me want to love her - and that has nothing to do with sex - it made me want to cherish her and let her know just how much value she had as a person. So the way Jay (Riz Ahmed) simply used her as a pleasure toy incensed me. How could anyone be so insensitive not to realise how his treatment hurt?

As a simple, sincere village girl, Trishna had never loved anyone in an intimate way in her life and so, when a handsome young man shows an interest in her, it literally sweeps her off her feet and, sadly, there is no one to pick her up. She fell in love and he fell in lust! If ever a movie had evoked a strong desire to lovingly comfort the leading character, Trishna does that.

I suppose, because the story is an adaptation of an English classic, the ending was inevitable but I really wish it hadn't been. I was left feeling empty and useless. What a waste!

Michael Winterbottom's contemporary update of 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' was something that I had been looking forward to seeing for a long time. This is his third adaptation of a Thomas Hardy novel, and by far his most audacious: taking a story set in 19th century England and relocating it to modern day India, while retaining the essence and nuance of the original story, was no easy feat.

Unfortunately, it shows. I knew from the beginning that this was not a movie to judge as a literary adaptation, and I refuse to do so. This should be judged on its merits as a film in its own right – but even with this taken into consideration, there are major problems.

First, I would like to state that there are things to admire in this movie. Freida Pinto in the main role proves to the world (if there was any doubt after her performance in 'Slumdog Millionaire') what a talented actress she is. Combine with this with some truly beautiful cinematography and a story packed with emotional depth and powerful statements about modern Indian society, relationships and sexual politics – and we should be on for a winner, surely!

Yet, despite Pinto's wonderful lead performance, her talents do not extend to some of her co-stars - most notably Riz Ahmed, who in an inspired but flawed directorial decision plays a character in whom Alec and Angel from the novel are combined. The result, although more successful than I originally thought it would be, still isn't entirely believable, especially in the film's final third – by far the weakest section of the film.

There are other, more minor flaws: with the exception of some wonderful technical flourishes (including a brilliantly filmed murder scene at the end of the film, and some interesting decisions in the cinematography department in shooting a car crash nearer the start of the movie), the editing is sometimes very shoddy, which undercuts not only some of the most beautiful filmed scenes in the movie, but also creates frequent continuity errors.

However, by far the most disappointing thing about 'Trishna' is its script: it sounds all the way through like a first draft. The characters talk in tired clichés, and surprisingly, there are no interesting set pieces until very near the end of the movie, meaning that for most of its running time, the film is running on neutral, with very little passion or forward momentum driving the plot along. It stalls far too often, and although I don't know how many scenes were consigned to the cutting room floor before the film's release, I would argue whole-heartedly that there are still more that could be shed.

I'm sorry to say that 'Trishna', despite great potential, left me very disappointed. It is a flawed melodrama with no gusto or passion, which inevitably means that its overwrought ending feels horribly out of place. It isn't a complete disaster – as I have said, there are positives, and it is certainly a brave and interesting effort, which I am sure many film buffs and lovers of literature will be itching to see: indeed, I would encourage them to see it (albeit with their expectations lowered). However, for me, Roman Polanski's 1979 film 'Tess' remains the definitive adaptation of the Hardy novel.

Trishna – CATCH IT (B) Trishna is loosely based upon critically acclaimed 1800's novel "Tess of the D'Urbervilles". This is a story of young girl whose life is destroyed by the circumstances and love. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is a beautiful novel and the story is more complex than Michael Winterbottom decides to adopt in his adaptation. Here the director only chooses to pick up the poor girl and a rich man who first makes and then destroys her life. He left many key characters and moment from the magnificent novel, which I think would have made this movie more interesting. Otherwise Trishna seemed more like an erotic version relies on sex only. Once you become aware of the novel you will understand that the director chooses an easy way to make this an erotic bonanza. We never gets to hear why Trishna doesn't leave from sexual abuse later or at least tell him that she is felling like a sexual victim but sadly we never get to hear her point of view. She does what she was told by men in her life from her father to the man she falls in love with. Freida Pinto is truly a Revelation, starting from Slumdog Millionaire, then to Red Woman in Woody Allan's ensemble YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER to Immortals with Henry Cavill to Rise of the Planet of the Apes with James Franco and now in Trishna, she has proved why everyone wants to work with her. Riz Ahmed is superb; he is charming, passionate and evil in one body all together. On the whole Winterbottom successfully adopted the Indian atmosphere and also was able to take out brilliant performance from Freida Pinto and Riz Ahmed but I think he failed to do justice to the Thomas Hardy novel "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" because it was never about eroticness it was about a young girl destroyed by her circumstance. If I forget it's based upon this novel than it's a very nice movie.

Set in contemporary Mumbai, TRISHNA is the tragic tale of a young woman (Freida Pinto) plucked from a village by a rich entrepreneur (Riz Ahmed) to live the high life, but finds herself very much at his beck and call with very little opportunity for self-determination. The story is an object lesson in how to understand the phrase "all that glisters is not gold," while pointing out the evils of capitalism in the newly-rich world of the Indian bourgeoisie.

Michael Winterbottom's film has a fine sense of place, stressing the contrasts between the young woman Trishna's rural origins, her new life in Mumbai and her subsequent decampment to Rajasthan, where she is expected to work as a servant to Jay - the entrepreneur - while being a lover at the same time. The combination of roles proves too much for her, leading to a violent denouement. Jay is portrayed as a superficial character for whom money has far more importance than love; on many occasions the two concepts are deliberately conflated so that he can achieve his ends. Riz Ahmed turns in a fine performance, his facial expressions seldom changing as he returns to India from a prosperous life in London and expects the local people to act at his beck and call.

Stylistically speaking, however, TRISHNA is rather irritating. Winterbottom's camera finds it difficult to focus on one particular object or person at a time; the shooting style is jerky, with several fast cuts between one thing and another. This serves a thematic purpose - to underline the superficialities of Jay's existence - but becomes rather difficult to watch. Consequently we find it difficult to sympathize with the protagonists - especially Trishna, even though she is very much the victim of a patriarchal society. Freida Pinto turns in a nuanced performance, but Winterbottom does not allow us to focus much on her facial expressions. The film might have worked better as a tragic love story if he had permitted us to understand her complex state of mind more fully.

My rating: 66/100

I saw this movie at the Toronto film fest. In the lead role is the lovely Freida Pinto of 'Slumdog Millionaire' fame. The director, Michael Winterbottom also wrote the screenplay which was adapted from Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".

Even though this film marked it's premiere gala the night before, today's screening had a festival perk - both the director and lead actor were at hand to introduce the film and also reconvene afterwards for a short Q&A. Certainly makes the occasion more special. An added bonus - Freida Pinto looked stunningly beautiful.

The setting of this romantic tragedy is India… at its most beguiling and also at its fetid worst. Winterbottom successfully transported me into the story by deftly creating a montage of the sights and sounds… bright, brash, beautiful and bleak… that appealed to all my senses. I could almost taste the gritty dust on the dry country roads and smell the dank alleyways that he took us through. I was particularly enamoured with the warm colourful music and background score which really enhanced the visual experience. The director's ability to engage all my senses was the key in opening the door to believing Trishna's spiralling tale of love and survival.

Culture deals a cruel hand to females in India, placing them and their future at the whim and mercy of the men in their lives, whether a father, an employer or a lover. I felt a sense of anger and defiance watching this, but Winterbottom so successfully conveyed this strange and different lifestyle that I found it believable to witness Trishna's series of unwittingly short-sighted decisions. We root for her, but deep inside feel there is no escaping the life of woe and deceit she finds herself in.

Even though I enjoyed this film, there were a couple of weak areas.

First, the director opted to have the actors create much of their own dialogue and I felt the absence of a hard and fast script was rather apparent. The two lead characters lacked depth and fullness, mainly because the words weren't there to give us the nuances needed to know who they were. Although as Ms. Pinto stated, it was a wonderful challenge for her as an actor – unfortunately it was her gain and the audiences' loss.

Second, this film ran 117 minutes in length. Perhaps it would be advantageous to edit some 8-10 minutes to tighten it up in a few spots.

Otherwise this was a visually satisfying film with a moving and compelling story.