Review of Far from the Madding Crowd (2015) by Facebook U — 17 Jul 2015

Thomas Hardy?s fourth novel Far From the Madding Crowd has been adapted to the recent British drama film, starring Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene, Matthias Schoenaerts as Gabriel Oak, Michael Sheen as William Boldwood, Tom Sturridge as Sergeant Frank Troy and Juno Temple as Fanny Robin. The movie was directed by Thomas Vinterberg and was adapted to the screen by David Nicholls.

The basic plot and storyline deals with Bathsheba Everdene, a farm owner in Victorian England, who attracts three very different suitors: Farmer Gabriel Oak, Sergeant Frank Troy, and wealthy bachelor William Boldwood and her various situations with each of these men in her life. To further explain the premise of the book, Gabriel is a shepherd and with his meager savings has worked a sheep farm, while falling in love with Bathsheba, who is six years younger than he is. Over time, they grow to like one another; however, when he asks her to marry him, she declines, valuing her independence too much, and him way too little. Soon after this, she moves to a village a few miles away. The eventually meet again, but their lives and circumstances have drastically changed. Gabriel has lost his farm and in his travels helps some people in extinguishing a fire on a farm owned by Bathsheba that she has inherited from a wealthy uncle?s estate and she hires Gabriel to work on the farm.

Boldwood has become infatuated with her and she playfully sends him a valentine in jest asking him to marry her. He eventually proposes, but she postpones giving him an answer. She tells Gabriel what she has done, and he accuses her of being thoughtless. She fires him on the spot, but she finds that he is the only person who knows how to cure her sicken sheep and offers him his job back. It is at this point in the novel, that Sergeant Frank Troy comes home and meets her. She immediately dislikes him, but becomes infatuated with him and marries him, but soon discovers that he is a gambler and has no interest in farming. She married him against the warnings from Gabriel and Boldwood, learning that they're foreboding about Troy was correct. Sensing that he really does not love her but loves her former servant, Fanny Robin, who he had promised to marry; unfortunately, on they're wedding day, she went to the wrong church and the wedding never took place. Some months later, Fanny, destitute, dies in childbirth and her and the baby are placed in a coffin and sent to Bathsheba?s home at her request as Fanny was once her servant. It is here that Bathsheba discovers who Fanny was to her husband Troy. Unable to deal with Fanny?s death and his inability to love Bathsheba, he leaves, being washed away out to sea where he is eventually rescued.

Presuming that Troy has drowned, Boldwood has asked Bathsheba to marry him again. She consents to marry in six years which is long enough to have Troy declared dead; however, he is not and returns home when he finds out that Boldwood is courting Bathsheba, his wife. During a Christmas party at Boldwood?s home, Troy demands that Bathsheba come home with him and Boldwood shoots Troy, killing him. At this point in the story, Troy is dead, Boldwood is in prison, so Bathsheba begins to rely on her only real friend through all her troubles, Gabriel. He has decided to move to California and she becomes upset and tells him that the rumor of his wanting to marry her is not absurd, but merely too soon. He asks again, this time she accepts and they are married.

The film is a literal adaptation of the preceding summary of the literature where most of the story is kept in the film with little or none dropped or added. The plot has not been changed or altered in any way dramatically from the book and the main characters have not to my knowledge brought a different meaning to the role than I had while reading the story. It helped the novel by the filming of it was shot in England where the author centered the story in the Victorian era. The acting by everyone, including the supporting cast was handled excellently and added to the enjoyment of this particular adaptation of the literature. Cinematography was also implemented well and complimented the overall feel of the film?s adaptation of the novel. Costumes appeared accurate for the time period, but I found the makeup on the women to be a bit off as were the wigs used on the men, especially Sergeant Troy. There were some issues in editing with the dissolves and fade ins and outs which I found too slow?kept me waiting for the next scene. But it does manage to move all and it kept my interest.

Overall, this was a well made movie and if you get the opportunity to see it, I am certain that you will enjoy it. GRADE: 4 of 5 crowns.