Far From the Madding Crowd

Based on Thomas Hardy’s classic novel from 1873, “Far From the Madding Crowd” is a delicious story about the dramas of an English farm and those who reside in it; the heroes and the simpletons, the kind and the vain. The story follows the beautiful and highly self involved Bathsheba Everdeen as she inherits a large farm and becomes the boss. Fiery and gorgeous, she quickly develops unwanted love interests. The book details her three main suitors: Gabriel Oak, an honest and heroic shephard; William Boldwood, an awkward and lonely farm owner; and Sergeant Francis Troy, a flirtatious soldier in a blaring red blazer.

As the relationships and dramas between Bathsheba and her suitors progress, Hardy explores her vanity and her untraditional power status as a woman owning a farm. Having just read and thoroughly enjoyed the beautifully written book, I decided to watch the 2015 movie directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba.

The visuals in the movie are gorgeous, accurately depicting the cozy, fairy tale rural villages of Southern England. The rolling hills glow a lush green and the hay bales are soft and golden. When all of Oak’s sheep fall off a cliff after being led by an over-ambitious sheepdog, they all lie dead on the sand of the beach below. It is tragic, but as Oak walks among the corpses on the shore, the mist rises from the sea into the light of the rising sun, and the cinematography is striking. When Troy is impressing Bathsheba with his sword routine, almost cutting her with the edge of his blade with every lunge, they are swirling in a dark, surreal forest. He kisses her passionately, and everything begins to spin. The camera work and visual aesthetics in the scene make it feel magical. The old folky music is also beautiful, making the film feel both ethereal and theatrical.

Although I was impressed with the visuals of the movie, I was underwhelmed with the script and acting. Hardy’s most interesting dialogue was simplified or cut out, taking away from the essence of the story. My favorite scenes in the book were those of the simple farmers in the local pub, gossiping about Bathsheba and the news of the town. Their dialect and personalities were hilarious and significant to setting the mood of the story. Their analysis and commentary on Bathsheba’s decisions bring interesting perspectives, but they were mostly emitted from the movie. Although I understand that much needed to be cut from the movie, it seemed to focus too much on the romance and drama instead of the details that make the story distinct.

I enjoyed Mulligan’s performance, but I do not think she embodied the remarkable spark and independence of Bathsheba. Her passion seemed forced to make a statement about feminism, instead of, like in the book, a genuine personality trait revealing of the power within a woman.

While the movie glittered aesthetically, it lacked the authenticity of the story, instead falling into a genre of stale movies about petty romance.