Gabriel Oaks (Matthias Schoenaerts) knew Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan) before she became a farm owner. Bathsheba hires him and respects him professionally, but is guarded about her personal feelings toward him. (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)
It’s too bad that most reviews of this film will probably label Far From The Madding Crowd as a “period piece.” At one time movies based on classic novels were revered. But now “period piece” means it’s reduced to a limited audience — because for some people that means its stuffy, stiff, and irrelevant. But this film based on Thomas Hardy‘s 1874 novel, has universal truths that still resonate.
One sign of that is the character Katniss Everdene in The Hunger Games seems to be spiritual sister to this story’s heroine Bathsheba Everdeen. Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games admitted the connection in an interview:
Katniss Everdeen owes her last name to Bathsheba Everdene, the lead character in Far From the Madding Crowd. The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts.
The effect of choices
Bathsheba is charmed by Sgt. Troy, but he has a rough and dark edge underneath. He’s one of three men who she has an opportunity to marry. (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)
At the center of Far From the Madding Crowd is Bathsheba (Carey Mulligan), a woman who has risen from the rural proletariat to being a farm owner. She’s trying to maintain her own independence, succeed as a business woman, and find herself while being pursued by three suitors who all represent different social classes.
One of them she’s known a while. At the beginning of the movie, Bathsheba when she’s a poor country girl, turns down a marriage offer from an earnest farmer Gabriel (Matthias Schoenaerts). She soon receives some money from an inheritance. So she moves away and takes over a large farm.
After his business is devastated by a tragic loss, Gabriel gives up his farm and roams across the countryside looking for work. He passes by a farm building that’s ablaze and his quick actions help the fire from spreading. It turns out the farm is owned by Bathsheba, and in gratitude she hires him.
At first Bathsheba isn’t accepted by the other male farmers. But she soon wins them over with her knowledge and her energy. One of them is a quiet, melancholy but wealthy farmer William Boldwood (Michael Sheen) who asks Bathsheba to marry him. She’s also courted by the soldier Sgt. Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge) who she meets in the woods surrounding the farm. And Bathsheba builds a friendship with Gabriel who becomes a loyal confidant.
A mixture of confidence and confusion
Bathsheba learns how to run a farm effectively, but she doesn’t manage her love life as well. She’s both impulsive and confused, which makes her a complex character. (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox)
These three men represent three different social classes and three different ways of looking at the world. And Bathsheba isn’t mature enough to know what to do.
She feels passion for the solider but he’s reckless. She feels no passion for Boldwood, but he can provide security. Gabriel is more like a brother who is from the social class she left behind. And she doesn’t want to give up her identity as the owner of a farm with its responsibilities and challenges which give her a sense of purpose.
So has much changed since the 19th century? Not really. Work and love play critical spiritual parts of our lives.
And it’s a tremendous challenge playing Bathsheba trying to sort all of this out. But Mulligan is terrific. She plays the character with a believable combination of outer confidence and inner confusion. She’s much better than Julie Christie was in the 1967 film adaptation of the book, who was extremely miscast as a farm girl.
This is an era where there are so many superficial movies and TV shows about young people finding themselves. But shaped by one of the 19th century’s best authors, this is a compelling story of a complex young woman on a path to self-discovery.
Without any mentors, she stumbles, makes mistakes, but ultimately discovers what’s important. It’s a brilliant story about spiritual growth.
Here’s the trailer for ‘Far From The Madding Crowd’:
