Far From the Madding Crowd 2015
PG-13 119min Drama May 2015 (USA)
A most wonderful escape into Victorian England, and a film you can take your spouse to safely without fearing being hit over the head by some agenda other than romance. There is tragedy, conflict, and the essence of commitments. Wonderfully played by all, albeit Tom Sturridge who plays the brazen and bold Sergeant is a bit too brazen and bold at times, and miraculously reappears at the appropriate moment....well, I will not give too much away here, but there were some farther-fetched plot points, yet we are all too eager to receive because of their inevitability. Yes, it's all too obvious even from the start what is going to happen, but dang it all, that's the fun of the story, watching it unfold exactly as we would have it to be. HOW it unfolds, the drama, is indeed wonderfully portrayed. Have I used that word wonderful too many times yet? There was one thing that happens near the end that was not foreseeable, although my wife says she saw it coming. Hm.
The most fetching (ha, you thought I'd say wonderful) thing for me, the film guy, was the cinematography. Quite frankly, that's the main reason I wanted to see it. I knew it would be beautiful, and it delivers. Painterly, moving, thick with mist and clarity where appropriate, the lens was polished on this one. Charlotte Bruus Christensen, the Cinematographer is from Denmark. Every scene was a thrill. But there was one special moment, and I am prejudiced because I am a man, and I already love Carrie Mulligan, especially her work in The Great Gatsby aside L. DiCaprio and Inside Llewyn Davis...but the moment was one where the camera catches her seated on a sofa with the window light coming in, and....well, it was Vermeer and...other artists come to mind. Perfect. I'm sure that my lovely wife could also have pointed out a few scenes where the handsomeness of the 3 men were portrayed in the same manner. Striking.
9 out of 10 I think. Excellent.
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