This is a film from Thomas Vinterberg, who has given good pieces like the 1998 flick The Celebration. A person who hasn’t read Thomas Hardy’s 1874 classic of the same name would surely find this film intriguing. But for all those voracious readers, this book will surely miss something.Â
The film is more or less a peek into the life of Bathsheba Everdene and her love affairs (she is caught in the love of three men). Mulligan enacts the role of Bathsheba to perfection and she is a perfect fit to Hardy’s imagination. Mulligan lifts the film with her stellar performance as a charming lady who wants to learn more in life and has the matured confidence which is above her age.
Michael Sheen
is quite at ease with his character. Sometimes, the director struggles to recapture the true madness of the novel in this film. The editing is quite confused and the film doesn’t show the true Hardy.Â
This film is all about a woman’s relentless effort for independence. But why Bathsheba, the woman protagonist, reveals sooner that she wants to be disciplined by a man? Isn’t it contradictory?Â
David Nicholls, the screenwriter tries to tell the story briefly. The camera work is at its best in this movie and the grandeur of Dorset is shown beautifully. The farm life was given life through the camera work.Â
Winterberg is sure what he wants to tell. Words are not only used to express what the characters want to say; the characters also speak through gestures, expressions, etc. You also get a connect with the period of that time.
The film has an alluring depth that it is difficult to limit it within the set hours. This in itself acts as the drawback of the film.Â
Verdict: People who are fascinated towards period dramas will like this film.