Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a hardworking young sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
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29 films that influenced Far from the Madding Crowd
What critics say influenced Far from the Madding Crowd
Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), whose surname was the inspiration for author Suzanne Collins' character Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games" series, is as resilient a character in 2015 as she was in 1874 when Hardy's novel was published.
One small element that might interest younger audiences of today is that the name of its lead character, Bathsheba Everdene, was Suzanne Collins' inspiration when it came time to give a surname to the heroine of The Hunger Games.
And “Everdene” has a new contemporary context from Katniss Everdeen, the strong-willed heroine of The Hunger Games franchise whose last name is borrowed from the protagonist of Thomas Hardy’s 1897 novel, Far from the Madding Crowd.
Bathsheba Everdene is the acknowledged inspiration for "The Hunger Games" heroine Katniss Everdeen , and even if Bathsheba doesn't have Katniss' archery chops, she battles against an oppressive regime with at least as much chutzpah as her dystopian-future namesake.
Hardy’s self-reliant heroine — who reportedly inspired the surname of a more recent one, Katniss of “The Hunger Games” — is in good hands with Mulligan, a subtle actress whose face speaks volumes even when she’s just quietly observing.
Before Suzanne Collins gave us The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen, there was Thomas Hardy’s Bathsheba Everdene in Far from the Madding Crowd, another novel about a rural girl and her career and romantic suitors.
Vinterberg adds a scene to the last of these which is incredibly moving, reminiscent of Hitchcock's "Rebecca" yet evoking a different emotion.
In the end, their film might not be in the same vaulted league as such classic romantic period pieces as James Ivory’s “A Room With a View” (1985) or Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence” (1993), but “Far From the Madding Crowd” is one the most satisfying, finest romantic period dramas to grace screens, big or small, in awhile.
My thoughts keep drifting to the vivacious spirit of James Ivory's "A Room with a View" and Ang Lee's "Sense and Sensibility," which didn't suffocate the comedy from the productions, laden with cinched bodices and delicately situated pince-nez as they are.
I can't help but wish this new "Far From the Madding Crowd" came with the thrill of interpretive discovery, the way Jane Campion gave Henry James' "Portrait of a Lady" a good shaking-up or, more conventionally, the way James Ivory mainstreamed E.M. Forster in "A Room With a View" and "Howards End."
In the end, their film might not be in the same vaulted league as such classic romantic period pieces as James Ivory’s “A Room With a View” (1985) or Martin Scorsese’s “The Age of Innocence” (1993), but “Far From the Madding Crowd” is one the most satisfying, finest romantic period dramas to grace screens, big or small, in awhile.
This is for audiences who enjoy films such as “The Age of Innocence,” anything by Jane Austen and television’s “Downton Abbey.”
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This conundrum has faced, and arguably gotten the better of, all three previous attempts to put the novel on the screen, most notably John Schlesinger's lavish, well-cast but lethargic 1967 version, which even Julie Christie, in the wake of her Darling/Doctor Zhivago ascendency, couldn't help bring to ground.
Seemingly incapable of cracking a smile, he fits securely in the stoic-farmer tradition that stretches from John Wayne in “The Quiet Man” to Russell Crowe in “The Water Diviner.”
This conundrum has faced, and arguably gotten the better of, all three previous attempts to put the novel on the screen, most notably John Schlesinger's lavish, well-cast but lethargic 1967 version, which even Julie Christie, in the wake of her Darling/Doctor Zhivago ascendency, couldn't help bring to ground.
Julie Christie (hot after her best actress Oscar for another Schlesinger film, Darling) stars as Bathsheba Everdene, the headstrong country girl made good after inheriting her uncle's estate, who captivates devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), lonely landowner Boldwood (Peter Finch) and dashing soldier Sergeant Troy (Terence Stamp).
While Hardy's tale is incredibly modern for its time, Vinterberg has further freshened the material, most notably with Janet Patterson's ("The Piano," "Bright Star") costuming.
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If you like this, try: the earlier version with Julie Christie and the book by Thomas Hardy, and “My Brilliant Career”…
It worked in Lawrence of Arabia; in “Hardy Country” a plaintive, period ballad fits better.