Movie Review: Far From The Madding Crowd (2015)

Starring:
Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Micheal Sheen, Tom Sturridge.

Directed by:
Thomas Vinterberg

Released in:
2015
Synopsis:
A humble shepherd proposes to an independent, free spirited girl staying at her aunt’s house. She refuses his offer. But, by a twist of luck/fate their lucks are interchanged. The shepherd’s flock jump off a cliff and he is forced to leave in search for work. The girl’s uncle leaves her his estate and farm. What happens when the shepherd lands a job working in the farm that the girl is now a mistress of.

Review:
During the weekend I wanted to watch a sweet and simple love story. This is what came to my mind and it’s exactly what I watched.

The movie is an adaptation of the novel by Thomas Hardy; apparently his fourth novel, which I haven’t read as yet, so I am so in love with this movie, which may not the case after I read the novel. Coz as usual, novels are always (mostly) better than their movie counterparts.
I love how Gabriel Oak, known as Mr. Oak during most of the movie, doesn’t abandon Bathsheba even when she does the most stupidest thing possible, even after Mr. Oak tells her she shouldn’t. Later she herself admits it was a huge mistake, but he doesn’t admonish her for it. He just says – ‘Go to bed, I’ll finish it on my own‘. The ‘it’ meaning covering hay stacks before impending rain could ruin them. Matthias Schoenaerts – was good in this character. I loved the way he tried to look humble by looking down and not having direct eye contact with the people giving orders.
Bathsheba Everdeen- the independent, free spirited woman, seems to just want to play the field but doesn’t want to marry until she meets a particular person who has her feelings in a riot. That’s when she gets married in a hurry. Carey Mulligan was good as Bathsheba. It’s kind of understandable, being young and an owner of a farm and lands; you don’t want to go, get married to someone and get your power taken away from you. I loved that her character got involved in most of the activities in her farm even though she was the Mistress. Her line to the shepherd- ‘If I ever were to marry I’d want someone to tame me, and you’d never be able to do it‘. Applause please !
Mr. Bloomwood’s character, I can’t really wrap my mind around why he did what he did. He was jilted by some old love of his, yeah. He wanted stability in his life, yeah. So, he kept proposing to Bathsheba, makes sense too. He almost seemed desperate to settle down.

Frank Troy and Fanny Robbin were victims of wrong timing. I can’t imagine how it felt to wait at the altar for your bride and she not arriving. I can also not imagine going to the wrong church for your wedding and realizing at the same time your fiance is waiting at another church.
Yeah, it will never happen in Goa, as the whole clan knows the where, when, who, why of a wedding.
The line Frank says to Bathsheba when she tells him not to kiss Fanny’s dead lips – ‘This woman, dead as she is, is more to me than you ever were, or are, or can be. You are nothing to me now‘.
According to me, being with Frank was like a slap to Bathsheba, bringing her down to Earth.
Summarizing, it is a good movie to watch when you crave a romantic movie on days spent inside your room, with it pouring outside. 😀

Anyone read the novel? Is it similar to this particular movie?