Premise: After inheriting a fortune, a woman with an independent streak chooses between the affections of three men in drastically different situations.
Apparently, Far from the Maddening Crowd is a classic book with several film adaptations. That makes a lot of sense. I probably could've guessed that from watching the movie even if I didn't know that. It plays like an often-adapted book. The independent female lead is a good indicator. Books like Vanity Fair, Little Women, and Pride & Prejudice are among the most commonly adapted books because of female leads that feel more modern. It's a lot easier to do pull from a story like that than to rewrite a Daisy Miller to sound like she has autonomy and isn't suffering as a result of it. There's also the fact that this movie plays like it's checking off events. The beginning of the film rushes through Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan) and Gabriel's (Matthias Schoenaerts) change in fortunes. I came away from that part knowing that those two would be a romantic pair because I know how movies work, not because the story shows enough to convince me. The movie repeatedly struggles to keep up with the pace of the story. The introduction and development of Bathsheba's other two suitors (Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge) barely have time to breath before moving to the next beat.
Carey Mulligan is quite good, even if I don't think the movie knows how to handle her character. It spends a lot of time developing her as a very independent woman. She turns down multiple proposals of marriage. She gets dirty in the farm. Then it does a poor job of explaining why she would marry Tom Sturridge's army Sargent. There's basically one scene of him showing off his sword to her, then they are suddenly married. Perhaps the movie goes too far early on presenting her through a modern lens.
Matthias Schoenaerts is a nice off-brand Alexander Skarsgaard. Michael Sheen successfully drops his natural charm and slickness for his role. Juno Temple plays a very Juno Temple role, further solidifying herself as a glam, British Taryn Manning. It's even got Jessica Barden popping up before I'd recognize her in anything.
Far from the Maddening Crowd is probably best suited as a mini-series. The story has many distinct chapters. It covers a decently long amount of time. Just about all the relationships in the movie needed fleshing out. It rushes through events at an almost comical pace. Like, I know the death of Schoenaerts' flock of sheep is supposed to be devastating, but the abruptness of the dog herding them off a cliff was a little funny. And someone needs to explain this church mix-up to me. So, Juno Temple goes to the wrong church by mistake...and they're done? Why was she not able to explain the confusion to him? I get that they didn't have phones back then, but the town isn't that large. I think director Thomas Vinterberg does what he can to make the adaptation work. There's just too much to cover, and the beats aren't that suited for a film.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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