In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
During the early years of Nazi occupation of France in World War II, romance blooms between Lucile Angellier (Michelle Williams), a French villager, and Lieutenant Bruno von Falk (Matthias Schoenaerts), a German soldier.
Director:
Saul Dibb
Stars:
Michelle Williams,
Kristin Scott Thomas,
Margot Robbie
The mixed-race daughter, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) is raised by aristocratic Great-uncle Lord William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in eighteenth century England.
Director:
Amma Asante
Stars:
Gugu Mbatha-Raw,
Matthew Goode,
Emily Watson
Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?
Director:
Joe Wright
Stars:
Keira Knightley,
Matthew Macfadyen,
Brenda Blethyn
An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.
Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.
Director:
Jacques Audiard
Stars:
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The story of independent, beautiful and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), who attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sheep farmer, captivated by her fetching willfulness; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. This timeless story of Bathsheba's choices and passions explores the nature of relationships and love - as well as the human ability to overcome hardships through resilience and perseverance.Written by
Fox Searchlight
The filmmakers asked the army at Lulworth in Dorset to stop firing while they shot scenes near Lulworth Cove. See more »
Goofs
At the beginning of the movie, Bathsheba Everdene is shown riding along sidesaddle. Suddenly (probably to show her disregard of convention) she throws her leg across and gallops away astride, like a man. However, there is a lip on the off side of a side saddle that does not allow for comfortable cross-saddle riding. We see the saddle with its horn (leaping head), but we also see a stirrup on the off side. A sidesaddle does not have stirrups on both sides, only on the near side. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Bathsheba Everdene:
[narrating]
"Bathsheba Everdene." "Bathsheba." The name has always sounded strange to me. I don't like to hear it said out loud. My parents died when I was very young, so there's no one to ask where it came from. I've grown accustomed to being on my own. Some say even too accustomed. Too independent.
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How do you solve a problem like Bathsheba Everdene? It's a question that has plagued literary enthusiasts since 1874, when Thomas Hardy first introduced her to the world in one of his classic novels, Far From The Madding Crowd. Today, 141 years later, that same question haunts Thomas Vinterberg's sumptuous, smart adaptation - one that tries valiantly, but doesn't wholly succeed, in celebrating the strength of a character that was always somewhat illusory to begin with.
In a time ruled and defined exclusively by men, Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) stands apart as a free-spirited, independent young lass who refuses to bow to convention. When she inherits the farm belonging to her late uncle, she insists on running it herself - working in the fields and sacking the male workers who disrespect her authority. Small wonder, then, that Bathsheba draws the attention of three suitors, each one representing a different social class and a unique brand of manhood: stoic farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts); stern, serious-minded landowner William Boldwood (Michael Sheen); and sexy, emotionally scarred sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge).
The main problem with Hardy's novel, which is largely replicated in Vinterberg's faithful adaptation, is its awkward attitude towards its lead female character. To be sure, Hardy gives Bathsheba a modern voice that still rings true today: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language chiefly made by men to express theirs," she declares. It's a line so delicious that screenwriter David Nicholls nicked it wholesale for the film. And yet, on a deeper reading of the novel, it becomes far harder to tell whether Hardy is celebrating Bathsheba's independence, or punishing her for it.
To their credit, Vinterberg and Nicholls do try a little harder to add a truly feminist bent to their version of Bathsheba's story. More care is taken to forge a genuine emotional connection between Bathsheba and Gabriel, even as her seduction of William Boldwood is made less purposeful. Bathsheba still finds herself approaching Sergeant Troy with lust rather than caution, but she does so in a more clear-eyed manner. In effect, Mulligan's Bathsheba seems bemused at and somewhat resigned to the sillier decisions she makes in her romantic pursuits.
The trouble is that, while these little changes do add up to a stronger character, they also result in thematic and tonal confusion. The truth of the matter is that Hardy was not always concerned with celebrating Bathsheba as a character in her own right - he was frequently more interested in commenting on the ideal romantic suitor, the kind of man to whom Bathsheba should give her heart. There's never any doubt, in Hardy's mind at least, what her choice should be. After a point, then, Vinterberg's film flounders because there is, truthfully, no real tension in the romantic dilemma that stares Bathsheba in the face.
It's a shame, because Vinterberg has brought Hardy's world to life with a very good cast indeed. Mulligan plays the fire and spirit of Bathsheba well, although she's trapped as much by the script as her character is by Hardy's words and ideas in the novel. As the sturdy Gabriel Oak (his surname says it all), Schoenaerts turns a rather dull but handy lump of a man into a semi-credible romantic prospect. The ever-reliable Sheen doesn't have quite enough screen-time, but nevertheless packs a great deal of depth and despair into the loss of William Boldwood's heart (and, perhaps, mind) to the charms of Ms. Everdene. There's almost more to be enjoyed in the semi-confessional scene shared by these two very different men as they sheepishly dance around their feelings for the same woman. Sturridge, meanwhile, is the relatively weaker link in the cast; his performance is fuelled more by his sexy moustache and saucy swordmanship than anything else.
At a point in time when female-led films are being discussed, dissected and celebrated more than ever before, Far From The Madding Crowd would - at least on the surface - appear to be part of this growing tradition. The filmmakers have certainly tried to create a version of Bathsheba Everdene that's unequivocally appealing to a modern audience. But it's an effort that, ultimately, doesn't quite work, since the point of Hardy's novel was arguably more about the man Bathsheba should marry, and less about Bathsheba herself.
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How do you solve a problem like Bathsheba Everdene? It's a question that has plagued literary enthusiasts since 1874, when Thomas Hardy first introduced her to the world in one of his classic novels, Far From The Madding Crowd. Today, 141 years later, that same question haunts Thomas Vinterberg's sumptuous, smart adaptation - one that tries valiantly, but doesn't wholly succeed, in celebrating the strength of a character that was always somewhat illusory to begin with.
In a time ruled and defined exclusively by men, Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) stands apart as a free-spirited, independent young lass who refuses to bow to convention. When she inherits the farm belonging to her late uncle, she insists on running it herself - working in the fields and sacking the male workers who disrespect her authority. Small wonder, then, that Bathsheba draws the attention of three suitors, each one representing a different social class and a unique brand of manhood: stoic farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts); stern, serious-minded landowner William Boldwood (Michael Sheen); and sexy, emotionally scarred sergeant Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge).
The main problem with Hardy's novel, which is largely replicated in Vinterberg's faithful adaptation, is its awkward attitude towards its lead female character. To be sure, Hardy gives Bathsheba a modern voice that still rings true today: "It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language chiefly made by men to express theirs," she declares. It's a line so delicious that screenwriter David Nicholls nicked it wholesale for the film. And yet, on a deeper reading of the novel, it becomes far harder to tell whether Hardy is celebrating Bathsheba's independence, or punishing her for it.
To their credit, Vinterberg and Nicholls do try a little harder to add a truly feminist bent to their version of Bathsheba's story. More care is taken to forge a genuine emotional connection between Bathsheba and Gabriel, even as her seduction of William Boldwood is made less purposeful. Bathsheba still finds herself approaching Sergeant Troy with lust rather than caution, but she does so in a more clear-eyed manner. In effect, Mulligan's Bathsheba seems bemused at and somewhat resigned to the sillier decisions she makes in her romantic pursuits.
The trouble is that, while these little changes do add up to a stronger character, they also result in thematic and tonal confusion. The truth of the matter is that Hardy was not always concerned with celebrating Bathsheba as a character in her own right - he was frequently more interested in commenting on the ideal romantic suitor, the kind of man to whom Bathsheba should give her heart. There's never any doubt, in Hardy's mind at least, what her choice should be. After a point, then, Vinterberg's film flounders because there is, truthfully, no real tension in the romantic dilemma that stares Bathsheba in the face.
It's a shame, because Vinterberg has brought Hardy's world to life with a very good cast indeed. Mulligan plays the fire and spirit of Bathsheba well, although she's trapped as much by the script as her character is by Hardy's words and ideas in the novel. As the sturdy Gabriel Oak (his surname says it all), Schoenaerts turns a rather dull but handy lump of a man into a semi-credible romantic prospect. The ever-reliable Sheen doesn't have quite enough screen-time, but nevertheless packs a great deal of depth and despair into the loss of William Boldwood's heart (and, perhaps, mind) to the charms of Ms. Everdene. There's almost more to be enjoyed in the semi-confessional scene shared by these two very different men as they sheepishly dance around their feelings for the same woman. Sturridge, meanwhile, is the relatively weaker link in the cast; his performance is fuelled more by his sexy moustache and saucy swordmanship than anything else.
At a point in time when female-led films are being discussed, dissected and celebrated more than ever before, Far From The Madding Crowd would - at least on the surface - appear to be part of this growing tradition. The filmmakers have certainly tried to create a version of Bathsheba Everdene that's unequivocally appealing to a modern audience. But it's an effort that, ultimately, doesn't quite work, since the point of Hardy's novel was arguably more about the man Bathsheba should marry, and less about Bathsheba herself.