Far From the Madding Crowd

far-from-the-madding-crowdI wasn’t sure if this was a serious film, or “Romance novel brought to the screen”. There was a lot of nice filmwork, and pretty good acting. But the overall plot was a bit too much, and some of the perfect scenes (like the ending complete with golden sunrise/set – seriously?) were too much too.

So, what happens? Well, it’s 1870 England, and a free-spirited woman finds herself the inheritor of an estate, and the object of marriage proposals from 3 men she hardly knows. Of course, she picks the worst of the three, and therein lies the drama. The way out? Guy 2 kills guy 3, and that leaves guy #1 the only left available… and leaves us with a perfect happy ending. Blech.

An Education

What made this movie work for me was how the man not only seduced a girl, but seduced her whole family… And exposed all their shortcomings in the process. In fact, at the end of it all, they were strangely all better for the experience. Indeed, they did get an education.