With the "Twilight" saga thoroughly finished and "The Hunger Games" soon coming to a close, audiences clearly need a new heroine torn between gorgeous men. How else are we supposed to live out our romantic fantasies, or wear our Team Edward or Team Jacob T-shirts? Fortunately, Thomas Vinterberg’s “Far from the Madding Crowd” (2015) is here to fill the gaping void in our hearts, bringing Thomas Hardy’s 1874 eponymous novel to life. In the process, we are introduced to the steamy Victorian romance of Bathsheba Everdene — whose surname inspired Katniss Everdeen of “The Hunger Games” — and her three suitors.
Set in fictional Wessex, England, “Far from the Madding Crowd” follows the life of Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan), a poor farmhand working for her aunt until her wealthy uncle bequeaths her his large estate while on his deathbed. A fiercely independent feminist wet dream, Bathsheba steps in to govern her new farm like Queen Victoria herself, displaying the ball-busting grace necessary to keep all of her workers in check and looking good while doing it. Mulligan shines in the role, embodying the poised yet quietly romantic lead, distilling her sexuality into her flirtatious dimples. From washing sheep and riding horses to crooning a tender ballad and rocking voluptuous Victorian dresses, Mulligan can do it all — and like a 19th-century Jennifer Lawrence, Bathsheba combines beauty and warmth, driving men wild with lust.
As a result, three suitors ask for Bathsheba’s hand in quick succession — Gabriel Oak, the hunky, stalwart shepherd with a permanent smolder; William Boldwood, the middle-aged and desperately single neighbor and Sergeant Francis Troy, an unctuous, mustachioed and scarlet-clad soldier. Dickensian — and nearly pornographic — in name, these suitors are caricatures of resilience (like an oak!), pity (why must he be so bold yet so wooden?) and seductive aggression (like a true Trojan). Let the “thirsty games” begin.
While Bathsheba primly denies the hands of Oak and Boldwood, who see marriage as a transaction for safety and pianos, she falls for the passion of Francis Troy in true Dido style. And during their courtship, rapt by his sword-brandishing hunkiness, Bathsheba melts from a stunning matriarch into a googly-eyed teenager. She even admits, “I cry so much more these days.” As if unable to maintain a proto-feminist voice, Hardy (and Vinterberg) cut her down from her empowered perch to a whimpering, submissive housewife, and Troy becomes a domineering leech, gambling away his wife’s fortune while pursuing his former mistress. Feel free to burn your Team Troy T-shirt here -— if you have any grasp of symbolism, you’ll quickly catch on to the fact that Bathsheba will end up happily with Oak, that sturdy, enduring love who will shade her from life’s hardships.
If all this sounds enticing, it’s still worth asking why we should bother with a century-old, vampire-less version of “Twilight.” Well, “Far From the Madding Crowd” offers all the trappings of a sumptuous BBC period drama, dripping with the bucolic romanticism of a van Gogh painting basking in Wessex’s idyllic crepuscule. It also provides the ups and downs familiar in classical romance novels, maintaining the vestiges of a fairy tale but burdened by class and oppressive patriarchy, even though Hardy’s novel in its time was remarkable for dismantling social structures and empowering a female lead. And of course, like in “Downtown Abbey” (2010), you’ll get the chance to see those Brits — with all their sense and sensibility and pomp and circumstance — become deliciously wicked. Hold on to your bloomers, everyone! This will be a ride.
“Far from the Madding Crowd” can feel like another dutiful — albeit modernized — adaptation of the mid-19th century romance (think “Pride and Prejudice” (2005), “Jane Eyre” (2011) or “Madame Bovary” (2014), to name just a few). But Vinterberg finds a happy medium between Hardy purists and more lascivious viewers, and the result is a film better than might be expected. So if you want to be far from those madding crowds who flocked to “Pitch Perfect 2” (2015) and “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) this weekend, settle down with your Team Oak T-shirts and enjoy this timeless Victorian classic.
Rating: 8/10
“Far from the Madding Crowd” is now playing every day at The Nugget at 4:20 p.m. and 6:50 p.m., with additional showings at 9:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1:50 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
