Movies: Far From The Madding Crowd - A Male View

(Drivebycuriosity) - Movies are a matter of taste - and maybe of gender. I hated watching the film "Far From The Madding Crowd" which I perceived as the most stupid movie I have seen in years, but my wife liked it (imdb).

The British romantic drama is based on the 1874 published novel of the same name by Thomas Hardy and set in the same time. The story must be really popular: According to Wikipedia this is already the fourth film version of the book (wikipedia).

In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong farm owner Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor. This constellation leads to decisions and events which in my view were very unbelievable & ridiculous.

The execllent cast, Carey Mulligan,  Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen &  Tom Sturridge, didn´t save the movie for me, and I believe that Juno Temple, who had just a short role, was too neclected. But this is a male view of course, a female audience might enjoy the squad of  hunks as the director apparently did. The camera indulged in 19th century farming scenes, sheep herds, green forrests and colorful sunsets, nice to look at, but I have seen that too often. So I was increasingly bored and perceived the 119 minutes as too long and tedious.

But my wife liked that the plot characterized a strong female, unusual as a farm owner in this period, and she enjoyed the costumes & the scenery. So, romantic females will probably ignore my review and enjoy this Victorian era romance which is especially knitted for them.