Having read the novel by Thomas Hardy in my early youth – and having completely forgotten the story – it was quite interesting to see the latest adaptation of the famous novel.
Bathsheba Everdene is a feminist ahead of her time and probably ahead of present times as well, at least as far as I am concerned. She doesn’t believe in marriage and tells her first suitor quite plaintively, “I have no need of marriage!” But life has a strange way of working itself out despite one’s best intentions, and love has a way of disrupting even the most carefully arranged plans.
A lovely period film set in the late nineteenth century in rural England in an era when telephones and e-mail were not yet in existence, it is fascinating to watch the power of a hand-written note that makes mountains move. The romantic entanglements that ensue make for fine entertainment, despite being utterly predictable.
High marks for cinematography, costumes and music. And if you need to have your faith restored in love and the institution of marriage, look no further.
