After hearing the incredible movie score, I finally decided to watch a fairly unknown film, Far From the Madding Crowd this past week. Based off Thomas Hardy’s fourth novel, the film adaptation was released to limited theatres on May 22 2015 and received decent reviews. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg, this British romantic film stars Carey Mulligan, Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge and Juno Temple.
Quick fact: Bathsheba Everdene’s name actually inspired author Suzanne Collins when she was choosing her character Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games.”
The film follows Bathsheba Everdene (yes, the name already shouts a classic, Victorian Britain era story) who is an independent and beautiful woman having to follow the traditions of marrying a good suitor. She attracts three suitors, Gabriel Oak (a sheep farmer), Frank Troy (a handsome Sergeant), and William Boldwood (a rich and older bachelor). Without giving out too much of the plot, she is conflicted between who she will marry and learns from her mistakes throughout the film.
Right from the beginning, I enjoyed the scenic nature and the film’s revealing of the character’s stand in society. Starting with the movie’s direction, I was a bit confused at first at how things suddenly transitioned in the movie. Ten minutes into the film and one suitor is already asking to marry Bathsheba. Of course, this set out the tone for the film since time flies by and well let’s face it, films rarely do justice to the novels. Somehow, one person shoots another (I don’t want to spoil it just yet) so I was suddenly thinking, what the hell just happened? Regardless, the cinematography was well built but the plot was a little hard to follow through.
I did come to love the costume choices, mainly because they weren’t so elaborate considering the story. One of the stand out costumes is Bathsheba’s mahogany colored riding outfit.
The costume was simple, yet brought back the Victorian era style with leather. I mean, what else shouts a strong female lead than wearing leather? It was perfect for a fierce, independent young woman.
Of course, I am a fanatic of movie scores and I cannot watch a movie without thinking of its soundtrack. Although I had heard the soundtrack way before watching the film, I most certainly put together how the style fit into the film's plot. This film definitely has one of my favorite scores of all time. The music is the type which you can close your eyes and find yourself riding a horse through open fields and forests, much like Bathsheba does in the beginning. If anything, the movie score was the best thing that came out of this film.
At the end of the day, Far From the Madding Crowd is a great classic, chick-flick that ends with a much anticipated ending but it’s certainly a heartfelt story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to watch a 'feel good' film.
