far from the madding crowd book review guardian

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Far from the madding crowd by thomas hardy [a review].

Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer with a modest sized farm, lives a solitary existence consisting of long days of unending toil. The hard life out of doors has made Gabriel look older than his 28 years. His only companions are his two sheep dogs; the reliable but old George and George’s energetic but disobedient unnamed son. Not yet of independent means, his knowledge, fastidiousness and strong work ethic appears to ensure a prosperous future for him.

With the arrival of a young woman to his environs, Gabriel finds his thoughts affected, his heart provoked. Though his first impressions of Bathsheba Everdene is that she is a vain, possibly immodest, young woman who exceeds him in education if not in social class, he finds himself inescapably drawn to her.

His proposal of marriage, however, is rejected. Though she has no other suitors, she does not love him back and his vision of their life together does not appeal to her. Bathsheba sees herself as a wild and independent woman and does not want to have a husband constantly around her.

I hate to be thought men’s property in that way – though possibly I shall be to be had some day.

Though disheartened, Gabriel is not one to dwell on such matters. He soon learns that Bathsheba has left the locale and is unsure if she will ever return. Not long after, disaster strikes as George’s son drives his flock to their deaths and ten years of Gabriel’s striving towards independence is ruined.

Forced to start over, Gabriel takes to the road to try and find work as a bailiff or even just as a shepherd, but the story of his decline turns off prospective employers. An opportunity arrives when Gabriel is able to play a lead hand in saving a farm’s crop from ruin and establish favour with the farmer. To his surprise, the farmer is Bathsheba who has come into an inheritance and finds herself owning a moderately sized farm. Desperate for employment, Gabriel must bury his past feelings for Bathsheba and accept that, as their fortunes have changed, they are no longer social equals.

Bathsheba’s conduct as lady farmer soon attracts a lot of attention. She dismisses the existing bailiff and declares she needs no replacement as she will manage the farm herself. She insists on working as long a day as her employees, in overseeing every operation on the farm and is not above getting her hands dirty in farm work.

Neighbouring Bathsheba’s farm is that of William Boldwood. Though rumoured to have had his heart broken when he was young, Boldwood has never exhibited any romantic interest and is a confirmed, though eligible, bachelor. But a Valentine’s card, sent as a prank, from Bathsheba stirs Boldwood’s fancy. Though Bathsheba turns Boldwood down as well, again citing a lack of love on her part, she admittedly feels guilty for her prank and that she owes Boldwood a debt for rousing him so.

It troubled her much to see what a great flame a little wildfire was likely to kindle. Bathsheba was no schemer for marriage, nor was she deliberately a trifler with the affections of men, and a censor’s experience on seeing an actual flirt after observing her would have been a feeling of surprise that Bathsheba could be so different from such a one, and yet so like what a flirt is supposed to be.

Boldwood’s obsession for Bathsheba only grows and he remains hopelessly optimistic that her feelings for him will change.

The great aids to idealization in love were present here: occasional observation of her from a distance, and the absence of social intercourse with her – visual familiarity, oral strangeness.

Soon after, Bathsheba has a chance encounter with Francis Troy; a soldier, though native to the area. Cocky, forward and imprudent, Troy excites Bathsheba as a man as wild as she is. Unable or unwilling to see past his seduction, Bathsheba becomes vulnerable to his charms. Unknown to Bathsheba is the fact that Troy was recently due to wed another woman, Fanny Robin, a former servant of Bathsheba’s house, who disappeared after Troy abandoned her following a misunderstanding.

The navigation of this intelligent, ambitious woman, through the desires of three very different suitors, in the precarious world of 19th century English farming, not to mention the rigid social rules in play as well, is the heart of this novel of Thomas Hardy.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it will become one of my favourites. Whenever I start a ‘classic’ novel, I expect something slow, something that will force me to take my time with it. It is rarely true. The plots of so many classics actually move along quite swiftly and, if anything, it is more contemporary writers who dawdle along with overly lengthy pieces of descriptive writing. In Far from the Madding Crowd the pace of the plot is brisk and descriptive pieces are effective but short.

That being said, there were a few instances where long, complex sentences with adjectives that have fallen out of use were employed. I admit I did not pause to consume them properly as I should have, and deserve a rap on the knuckles as a bad reader for passing them too quickly, eager as I was for the story to continue.

Elsewhere, those descriptive pieces are quite something and add considerable colour to the novel. An architect by training, Hardy displays his architectural knowledge in one scene in particular, but otherwise displays ample knowledge and ability in describing the rural setting, various farming practices and a knowledge of botany and art as well as the works of Keats and Milton. Hardy’s use of the pathetic fallacy is somewhat transparent, but I rather like it.

The writing contains a pleasant bit of humour as well.

A brisk young man – Mark Clarke by name, a genial and pleasant gentleman whom to meet was to know, to know was to drink with, and to drink with was to pay for.

Like a lot of novels of the time, Far from the Madding Crowd was published in periodical form and the writing reflects this. Dickens gets considerable acclaim for the way he manages the ebb and flow of the pace of his stories and the timing of plot twists and turns to suit a periodical audience, particularly for his influence on the writing of the modern equivalent – the TV show. Hardy, though writing after Dickens, displays similar skill and control.

Far from the Madding Crowd represents my first foray into ‘Victorian Realism’ and it was not what I expected, though, in hindsight, my expectations may have been lacking. For example, I thought realism would have meant a restraint on emotionality in scene and dialogue. This is certainly not the case for Far from the Madding Crowd which contains several emotionally charged scenes. Realism, I think, can refer to many things. In the case of Far from the Madding Crowd , it takes the form of an aversion to the sentimental or the ideal rather than an avoidance of emotionality or unexpected plot turns.

Far from the Madding Crowd can be interpreted as a somewhat progressive novel. Hardy was influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as John Stuart Mill and he takes the opportunity in this novel to question various aspects of society in his time. The obvious example is that of Bathsheba assuming traditional male roles as head of her house and overseer of her farm.

On one hand, she is a symbol for progress in her assumption of traditionally male roles, her ‘unladylike’ ambition and her willingness to get her hands dirty. On the other hand, she is still portrayed as being subject to traditional female weaknesses for vanity and an inability to be as rational on matters of the heart as she is elsewhere.

Bathsheba’s was an impulsive nature under a deliberative aspect. An Elizabeth in flesh and a Mary Stuart in spirit,

In scenes where she is absent, Hardy shows how she is scrutinised in ways she would not be if she were man. As the story unfolds, the men around her are unsure what to make of the events; either Bathsheba is capable of being an equal to a man and she therefore deserves, or at least should take some responsibility for, her fate, or she is not equal and is therefore mostly innocent of any outcome. Bathsheba too is only too aware of the difficulties of being her own woman in a man’s world.

It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.

Carey Mulligan, who plays Bathsheba in the 2015 film adaptation said in an interview:

Thomas Hardy wrote this incredibly authentic woman. Don’t you think that it’s amazing that a man, so long ago in Victorian Britain, could do this? There are so many passages in the book where the narrator dives into her head. You can see her thought processes, and they are all spot on.

While these questions of women’s role in society is an aspect modern readers can relate to, and Bathsheba remains a character of enduring intrigue and complexity, other aspects of Hardy’s social progressiveness are less obvious to the modern reader but were deliberately created by Hardy to provoke and antagonise his Victorian readers. Religious hypocrisy, though not a strong focus in the novel, is nevertheless present when characters misinterpret or misapply Biblical passages, or when characters fail to love their neighbours or to judge not. Such moments, though are less obvious to the modern reader who is less indoctrinated in Biblical technicalities than their Victorian equivalent.

The same is true for social rules; the inequities and quandaries of which do have a large and deliberate role in the novel. I’ll only share one example here; the relationship between Bathsheba and Gabriel. When they first meet they are on similar social footing – Gabriel as a sheep farmer still a few years away from financial independence, Bathsheba as an orphaned young woman reliant on what little family she has. His offer of marriage is in complete accordance with the social rules of the time. But Gabriel’s subsequent misfortune and Bathsheba’s inheritance has the effect of blurring the social rules and it is clear that neither they, nor the reader, is entirely sure how they should now behave.

Sometimes they share an understanding of their past familiarity and at others they remember they are now master and employee. Sometimes Gabriel is valued for his knowledge and encouraged to share his thoughts, at others he is punished for the impropriety of his opinion. To the Victorian reader, any outcome that sees Gabriel and Bathsheba together would not be a happy ending in the romantic sense. Again, this may not be immediately apparent to the modern reader for whom such rules have lapsed, but the social confusion the events of the plot create is certainly intentional from Hardy.

The conflict between these social rules and the requirements for a good matrimonial match is another theme of the novel, in fact, the question of what makes a good match could be considered the main theme of the novel.

It appears that men take wives because possession is not possible without marriage, and that women accept husbands because marriage is not possible without men.

This edition of Far from the Madding Crowd is the second printing of the 2000 edition that used Hardy’s original manuscript for the first time. All other versions include changes made by censors, publishers and later, Hardy himself. It was Hardy’s questioning of social rules that drew the censor’s ink to his work. Rosemarie Morgan’s introduction to this edition focuses on this aspect of the novel and what Hardy was trying to say before his work was altered. She also discusses Hardy’s subtle and complex use of irony and satire in depth.

I could only think of one relatively minor flaw in this otherwise superb novel. For all of its ability to keep the pace of the story up through various turns of plot, there was one event where the realism broke down somewhat – the sudden disappearance of Troy. It occurred a little too suddenly, with too little expectation and a little too conveniently for the direction Hardy wanted the story to take. As I say, it is a minor grievance.

On a side note, I must say this is the first instance where I have been disappointed by the explanatory notes provided in a Penguin Classic. I have otherwise found explanatory notes to be enlightening but in this case they caused issues. Most of the notes concern revisions from the original manuscript. Some of these revisions and the reasons for them are worth noting; as mentioned the text has been amended repeatedly by censors, publishers and Hardy himself. These might have been put in a separate appendix for textual notes. Most of the rest explain Hardy’s frequent Biblical, historical and mythological references and his deliberate creation of issues of social etiquette. Again, these notes are worthwhile to explain what may not be obvious to modern readers.

But my main issue is with the fact that some notes were spoilers; pointing out Hardy’s foreshadowing of future plot events. I expect Introductions to contain spoilers and I therefore avoid reading them until I have finished the book and Penguin often give a spoiler warning at the beginning of their introductions. But I expect explanatory notes to avoid them and was disappointed to find spoilers without warning in the notes as I was reading. I’m also not a fan of the black-and-white photo cover and would have preferred the oil panting covers that predominate their books from this period.

The two main film adaptations – 1967’s with Julie Christie and 2015’s with Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba respectively – are fair. The Christie version contains more of the novel but this makes it quite long, over two and a half hours. Long period films work best when what we are seeing is a microcosm of larger events such as wars and revolutions – Lawrence of Arabia , Gone with the Wind , Doctor Zhivago . The scale of Far from the Madding Crowd is too small to suit an epic film. It has also not aged well; some of the filming techniques are noticeably amateurish by modern standards.

The Mulligan version is overall a much better film, but partly because it is shorter and omits much of the story. In particular, much of Troy’s story is left out, making him a much more sympathetic character than he is in the novel and the earlier film. The minor roles are also greatly diminished and with it the story loses the social commentary they provide.

Condensing the story into a film format means that the already well-paced drama proceeds even more rapidly without much pause for the characters to dwell on them or to build toward the next one. The story would be much better served by a TV miniseries adaptation along the lines of what the BBC achieved with their 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation. The novels of Jane Austen and Charles Dickens have enjoyed multiple TV miniseries adaptations. Those of Thomas Hardy perhaps deserve the same.

Far from the Madding Crowd is the first of six Hardy novels I plan to read over the next couple of years. Judging from this first outing, it is going to be a pleasant experience. From here, I expect Hardy to push his satire and exposure of social and religious hypocrisy further and test the tolerance of his contemporary censors and critics. That being said, my impression is that Far from the Madding Crowd is to Hardy’s oeuvre what Pride and Prejudice is to Austen’s. That is, not necessarily the favourite of critics and academics, but a clear and enduring favourite with the majority of readers.

Carey Mulligan quote reference:

Totara, Paola; The Carey Factor ; The Age , 6/6/15.

For reviews of other Thomas Hardy novels, see here .

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In fact, there is a very successful BBC television series 1998, with Paloma Baeza as Bathsheba and Nathaniel Parker as Oak. It is over three and a half hours long and is quite true to the book.

Thanks! I will have to check it out if I can find it

Good luck Jason! I’m so happy to see a young person interested in Hardy. He’s my favorite author! Michelle

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Thanks Catherine! I don’t think I count as a ‘young person’! LOL! He was my father’s favourite too and I think I was always curious to know what he liked about him. He’s become one of mine too, mostly for Far From the Madding Crowd and Tess

Is it difficult to read? Is the English language sort of older, like Jane Austens books?

Apologies for the late reply Liv, I didn’t see a notification for your comment. Yes, I would say Far From the Madding Crowd is easy to read, easier than some other English classics. It was published in 1874, so more recent and modern than Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Thank you! I will definitely read it then.

'Far From the Madding Crowd' Puts a Satisfyingly Modern Spin on Thomas Hardy's Romantic Love Letter to Rural Life

Carey Mulligan and Tom Sturridge in "Far From the Madding Crowd" 

(Photo: Searchlight Pictures)

For all that Thomas Hardy's novels are now considered classics of English literature, they were remarkably modern, forward-thinking texts at the time of their publication. His works feature complex female protagonists and often focus on controversial issues, including sex, religion, marriage, and education. Rather than idolize the Victorian era, Hardy did his best to explore how social constraints frequently limited the lives of ordinary people, and the decline of life in rural England. Far From the Madding Crowd was his fourth novel but first commercial success, a story set against the seemingly idyllic backdrop of a farming community that deals with the harsh realities those living in this picturesque world often face. 

The 2015 feature film adaptation of Hardy's work, helmed by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg , condenses many of the novel's broader themes, streamlining its story into a more straightforward and easily digestible romance tale. But visually, this Far From the Madding Crowd embraces much of the author's favored aesthetic, crafting a lush version of late nineteenth-century Wessex teeming with bright colors, abundant life, and plenty of natural light. Its farmlands feel lived in and accessible, full of both beauty and the threat of danger, and it's clear how interconnected this land and the characters living in it are to one another, whether they want to be or not. Thus, grounded in the rhythms and cycles of farm life seems to permit the film to be a bit transgressive, abbreviating the text in specific ways that may spell things out for viewers too often but still give the characters space to breathe and grow. 

In its most basic sense, the story follows an independent-minded young woman who inherits a farm and decides to run it herself, declaring that she does not need a husband. Of course, this means she ends up with three different suitors and must grow up and learn herself enough to choose between them, and all manner of consequences ensue, for everyone involved. Quietly, yet radically feminist and featuring the rarest of all Hardy narrative choices (a happy ending), Far From the Madding Crowd still feels painfully modern, even hundreds of years later. Are there things it could do better? Absolutely. (Poor Juno Temple deserved so much more than a chance to show up onscreen for five minutes and die.) But it gets much of the story's spirit right, which must count for something. 

Carey Mulligan in "Far From the Madding Crowd" 

Bathsheba Everdene's name probably sounds familiar to people who've never read Thomas Hardy's book. Author Suzanne Collins gave The Hunger Games heroine Katniss a variation of her last name in homage to her as a fellow young woman who often struggled with knowing her own heart. Because the truth is, as a character, Bathsheba is unlike any other heroine of her era. She's impetuous, headstrong, and independent in ways that are hard not to immediately love, and her determination to plot her future without caring what those around her think is a luxury that many (most?) of her contemporary literary sisters do not have. 

A woman who, thanks to wealth and providence, can remain unmarried, make her own choices, run a farm on her own, and be respected (or, at least, treated ) as a boss and a landowner. She has such freedom and agency but still has little understanding of the consequences of her actions. Actress Carey Mulligan infuses her with a compelling charm and brisk directness that speaks of a woman who knows her own mind — even when her actions don't always back that assumption up. She's not always likable, but she's fascinating to watch. 

Throughout the film, Mulligan's Bathsheba walks a fine line between admirable and awful, and her character has plenty of flaws. The same independent streak that makes her such a compelling heroine also can occasionally make her a terrible person --- she's frequently selfish and self-centered, downright brutal in her refusals to the various men who propose to her. The alleged "prank" she plays on William Boldwood feels deliberately cruel, and the film gives us precious little motivation (beyond sheer boredom) for why she'd send a fake provocative Valentine to a man she barely knows and isn't especially interested in beyond mockery—her infatuation with Sgt. Frank Troy lacks the self-awareness she applies to almost every other situation, and watching her give in so quickly to such an obvious cad is somehow both tragic and vaguely cringe-worthy. 

Michael Sheen in "Far From the Madding Crowd"

One of the most interesting choices this particular adaptation makes is how it handles the character of William Boldwood. A wealthy, older (I mean, not that by much the man is like forty ) neighbor of Bathsheba's, he's rumored to have been jilted by love in the past and remains unmarried despite his generally eligible nature. In Hardy's novel, Boldwood has serious stalker vibes, a man who drives himself insane over a woman he wants but can't have. He's not an option that Bathsheba could (or should!) genuinely consider. 

But the 2015 film softens Boldwood considerably, turning the character into a lonely, socially awkward gentleman who seems to have more than made his peace with a life without much in the way of love in it, at least, until he receives an unexpected Valentine from his new neighbor, who has never given him any reason to doubt that her interest is genuine. (Or she's a woman who plays cruel tricks on a stranger she barely knows.) His proposal is authentic, and the film takes pains to present him as a decent, kind, romantic alternative, albeit one that lacks the overt passion that Frank Troy will introduce to our heroine's life. 

Part of this is likely due to the unexpected warmth of Michael Sheen's performance, which reimagines Boldwood as more of someone you'd like to hug or push a cup of tea on than the obsessive creep we see in the original story. But — and it may be because I am a bit older now than the last time I saw this movie, have gotten married, and have gone through my own Sgt. Troy phase already — there's something about this particular incarnation of the character that honestly feels like a safe, decent choice and might deserve more consideration than Bathsheba gives him — just saying.

 Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts in "Far From the Madding Crowd"

Bathsheba will ultimately end up with the supportive sheepherder Gabriel Oak, whose very name conveys the sense of sturdiness and purpose that the story eventually decides is what its heroine truly needs. He's always there, always supportive, can't ever seem to leave even when he wants to try to do so, and repeatedly puts Bathsheba's needs above his own. It's not awful, and as plenty of other literature from this period reminds us, she could do much worse. 

To his credit, he respects her fire and independence in a way that won't require her to become lesser to be with him. That's no small thing. But it's also true that Gabriel is more attractive as an idea than a person. His personality is only sketched out in the vaguest of terms, and he has no real arc throughout the film. He begins the movie by proposing to Bathsheba and ends it the same way — the difference is that Bathsheba and her answer change. Gabriel's steadiness is likely the primary reason he's the perfect choice for her, but it doesn't make him particularly deep or compelling to watch. He's also, not for nothing, kind of a terrible sheep farmer, given how many of his charges die or contract potentially deadly illnesses. 

But despite the generally dull and deeply predictable nature of Gabriel as the story's ultimate romantic choice, it doesn't necessitate the importance and quiet power of the fact that Bathsheba gets to choose for herself. So many women aren't granted that opportunity, whether for good or ill. But Far From the Madding Crowd never denies Bathsheba the gift of her own agency, and even when she's making terrible decisions, we should be celebrating this classic's inclusion of the very modern idea that she ought to be allowed to make them at all.

Far From the Madding Crowd is streaming on Max.

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Lacy's love of British TV is embarrassingly extensive, but primarily centers around evangelizing all things  Doctor Who,  and watching as many period dramas as possible.

Digital media type by day, she also has a fairly useless degree in British medieval literature, and dearly loves to talk about dream poetry, liminality, and the medieval religious vision. (Sadly, that opportunity presents itself very infrequently.) York apologist, Ninth Doctor enthusiast, and unabashed Ravenclaw. Say hi on Threads or Blue Sky at @LacyMB. 

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Review: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

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REVIEW: Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Dear Reader:

Once upon a time (more specifically, late 2010), my quest for self-improvement led me to Thomas Hardy. “Self,” I said to myself, “you’ve been trying all sorts of classic authors, you’ve tackled a few Russians. But you’ve never read Thomas Hardy. Why not give him a shot?” So I did. I don’t remember the process of elimination that led me to my fateful choice; I only remember thinking that I knew enough about Tess of D’Ubervilles to be fairly sure that it would piss me off. I ended up reading Jude the Obscure .

Big mistake. HUGE mistake. If ever a book perfectly combined soul-crushing boredom with spirit-withering depression, it’s Jude. Man, that book was boring. Man, that book was depressing. (“Done because we are too menny.” Shudder.) How does a book simultaneously manage to be both incredibly dull and astoundingly grim? I don’t know. But that book managed it. I hated it. (Strangely, looking at my log, I still gave it a C, which either means I was a REALLY easy grader five years ago, or more likely I feel like an asshole giving bad grades to classic works. I mean, clearly I’m the problem for not better appreciating this very boring, very depressing classic work of literature.)

Anyway, where were we? Recently I got it in my head that I should give Hardy another try. I remembered that back when I bitched to anyone who would listen about Jude the Obscure , a friend insisted that I should read Far From the Madding Crowd . So I did.

Our main characters are Gabriel Oak and Bathsheba Everdene. At the beginning of the novel, Oak is a shepherd who lives very simply and saves for a better future. He meets Bathsheba when she comes to the area to live with her aunt. They form something of a friendship, but when Gabriel proposes, Bathsheba turns him down. She doesn’t have feelings for him and has a desire to remain independent. She’s also proud and seems to see herself as above Gabriel, though she’s also very poor. Soon after, she leaves town, and Gabriel suffers a reversal of fortune: all his sheep die and his plans for a more comfortable future go up in smoke.

The two meet again in Weatherbury, where Bathsheba has inherited an estate from an uncle, and Gabriel is looking for work. Despite some initial discomfort between them, Gabriel ends up hiring on as Bathsheba’s shepherd, and does an excellent job.

Meanwhile, Bathsheba has another suitor, a handsome and wealthy but rather uncharismatic farmer named Boldwood. Boldwood is drawn to Bathsheba after she sends him a valentine on a lark. Boldwood takes the valentine far more seriously than Bathsheba intended it, and falls desperately in love with her. Bathsheba, to her credit, does feel terrible about leading Boldwood on, but she doesn’t have any more desire to marry him than she did Gabriel. She wants to run her farm on her own, making her something of a rare specimen of womanhood to the locals.

However, eventually Bathsheba’s head is turned by the dashing Sergeant Troy, who anyone can tell is bad news. For one thing, he’s already been seen trifling (apparently) with Fanny Robin, a young woman who was briefly in Bathsheba’s employ before running off. Even Bathsheba seems to know that Troy is no good, but she’s drawn to him anyway.

For whatever reason, Far From the Madding Crowd was a lot less boring to me than Jude the Obscure . (It was also nowhere near as depressing – though it has its moments – but the reasons for that are less obscure.) I think the prose and the characters were both less ponderous; Far From the Madding Crowd was originally published in serialized form and the writing reflects that. It’s not cliffhanger-y, necessarily, but there’s a degree of dramatic tension that I don’t recall there being in Jude.

Hardy had quite a fondness for rural life, and at times I did skip over paragraphs lovingly detailing the hay ricks (note: I have no idea what a hay rick is) and the countryside and the dew on the leaves and blah blah blah. I like his writing better when he’s recreating the local dialect in the voices of the workers who populate the area and work for Bathsheba and Boldwood. I often didn’t understand entirely what they were talking about, but the general flavor usually came through.

Bathsheba is sort of a mixed bag as a character – on the one hand, she’s sympathetic as a woman trying to make it in a mans’ world and deal with the expectations and limitations that are forced on her. On the other hand, it’s hard not to see her as flighty; she spurns two good men in favor of one bad one. Hardy’s views on the essential character of women weren’t exactly advanced, I don’t think, and Bathsheba as a character reflects that.

The three men drawn to her each manage to be sympathetic: Gabriel Oak is the pattern card of an upstanding, hardworking, loyal and steadfast man. His last name is a good indicator of his character; he’s solid and sturdy and also a bit unbending. Sure, he’s no romance hero: he’s not dashing or tempestuous in his passions. But it’s clear from the beginning that he’s a good guy. Boldwood seems to have some similar traits: steadiness of character combined with a somewhat uninspiring personality. But his mad pursuit of Bathsheba reveals some hidden depths. On the one hand, his doomed loved for Bathsheba gives Boldwood an air of tragic romanticism; on the other hand, it reveals him to be, well, kind of crazy.

Troy was the one who managed to surprise and intrigue me. I didn’t like him; he’s too selfish and shallow for that. But he could easily have been a cardboard villain, and he’s not. In some ways, in his pursuit of the easy life and comfort, Troy ends up being his own worst enemy.

The ending of Far From the Madding Crowd has a certain rightness to it, a symmetry that I found pleasing. It’s not super-romantic but it’s a far cry from the dreary despair of Jude the Obscure . My grade for this one is a B+.

Best regards,

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has been an avid if often frustrated romance reader for the past 15 years. In that time she's read a lot of good romances, a few great ones, and, unfortunately, a whole lot of dreck. Many of her favorite authors (Ivory, Kinsale, Gaffney, Williamson, Ibbotson) have moved onto other genres or produce new books only rarely, so she's had to expand her horizons a bit. Newer authors she enjoys include Julie Ann Long, Megan Hart and J.R. Ward, and she eagerly anticipates each new Sookie Stackhouse novel. Strong prose and characterization go a long way with her, though if they are combined with an unusual plot or setting, all the better. When she's not reading romance she can usually be found reading historical non-fiction.

FYI, a hay rick is the way hay used to be stored in a huge (but scientifically constructed) heap in the corner of a field. They were often thatched to keep the rain out. You’re welcome.

This is the only Thomas Hardy I’ve read. I know enough about Tess, Jude and The Mayor Of Casterbridge to want to stay far, far away from their depressing pages. I liked Far From The Madding Crowd, though. You’ve nailed the description of the characters; none of them are perfect, yet all of them are intriguing.

I, too, found Bathsheba a bit flighty. I can’t recall, off the top of my head, any 19th century male author who has written a female character I’ve loved. Are there any likable women written by men of that era?

You found “Jude” boring? I find that sad. Just sad. This book is considered the first “modern” novel, shifting from Victorian mode, as well as being thought Hardy’s best (It’s 29 on the Guardian’s top 100 list). Yes, it is angry and even radical for its time, but it’s not a modern romance. What did you expect?

Yes, “Madding” ends on a perhaps an upper note? but it wasn’t the point of the book that the heroine would end up “safely” married. The three very different men and what Bathsheba sees in them is more to the point. Yes, I do indeed like “Madding” too, and it makes a good movie (the 1967 version), but “Jude” is my favorite novel by far.

@ Jean : Okay I get it – people are passionate about books, but this comment seems kind of “judgey” to me and not about the book, about the author of this review. Sometimes people don’t like books you loved. It’s okay. They can like it or not. “What did you expect?” after the comment about modern romance doesn’t seem well played to me. We don’t know what she expected and that’s not necessarily our business. It didn’t work for her. But your comment reads like a romance novel /romance reader slam to me.

Is Bathsheba Everdene the best character name ever, or what? ITA with your assessment of Jude the Obscure. It was a DNF for me, and I’m a Hardy fan. My favorite is Tess of the D’urbervilles, and if you haven’t read it, don’t wait any longer. It’s great. Even if the hero is name Angle Clare, the book is still good. What’s with hardy and names? They’re either off the chart good or so goofy it makes the reader wonder what he was smoking.

@ Jo : Have you not ready any books by Anthony Trollope? His novels are crammed with memorable women characters. The thing I like most about him is that he liked women and wasn’t afraid to show them as strong, independent, intelligent creatures worth listening to. Lady Glencora, Madame Max, Lily Dale, Madeline Vesey-Neroni, and Alice Vavasor are just a few of the names that come to mind. I started reading Trollope in the 1980s after seeing the BBC adaptation of the Barchester novels and have never had a period of time when I wasn’t reading or rereading one of his books. Currently Dr. Thorne is on deck, and Martha Dunstable is the standout female character. I highly recommend watching the adaptation, then dive into his wonderful world. You’re in luck if you like him. He wrote 47 novels, plus travelogs, biographies, criticism, etc. No lack of material.

Am I the only one who ever wondered if the Valentine said, “I Choo Choo Choose You!”

@ Kilian Metcalf : I never got around to reading Anthony Trollope. I will definitely be checking out the BBC adaptation. Thanks!

@ Jane Lovering : Thank you!

@ Jo : Even the 19th century authors that write with some depth of understanding about female characters (maybe Tolstoy?) I think are limited by the societal perspectives they’re rooted in.

@ Francesca : Ha! That would be awesome.

@ Jean : I dunno; it bored me. My comments weren’t meant as an indictment of the novel; I even admitted (somewhat jokingly) that the problem was probably with me.

I definitely wasn’t expecting a modern romance with Jude, but OTOH I have no interest in reading material that is relentlessly grim. I expect 19th century classics to be dense, but there have been plenty that I liked very well in spite of the “boring” parts.

@ Kilian Metcalf : Bathsheba Everdene is an awesome name.

I am wary of Tess because of the whole “girl gets ruined and is therefore DOOMED” trope. I’ll get to it someday.

I might try The Mayor of Casterbridge next, though. I’m familiar with that story from a Michael Winterbottom film called “The Claim” which changes the setting to an American western mining town in the 1860s. It’s a very striking, evocative movie, though I don’t know how true it is to the original story.

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Far From the Madding Crowd - video review

Xan Brooks , Peter Bradshaw , Henry Barnes , Richard Sprenger , Mona Mahmood and Andrea Salvatici, theguardian.com

Thu 30 Apr 2015 16.49 BST First published on Thu 30 Apr 2015 16.49 BST

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Review: ‘Far From the Madding Crowd,’ the Rom-Com

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Anatomy | ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’

In this anatomy of a scene, thomas vinterberg narrates a sequence from “far from the madding crowd,” featuring carey mulligan and tom sturridge..

By A.O. Scott

• April 30, 2015

Bathsheba Everdene — if the last name sounds familiar, that’s because she’s an acknowledged feminist foremother of the “Hunger Games” heroine — is faced with a series of complicated choices. Really, though, her predicament is simple: She wants to live on her own terms in a society where a woman’s freedom is tightly circumscribed by custom and expectation. As she tries to figure out what she wants to do and who she wants to be, the world keeps pushing her to answer a different question: Which man will she marry?

When Thomas Hardy first brought her to life in 1874 in his novel “Far From the Madding Crowd,” Bathsheba was both a bracingly modern character and part of a lively literary sorority going back at least to the novels of Jane Austen. When the book was brought to the screen in 1967, in a slower-moving, sexier version directed by John Schlesinger, Bathsheba was played by Julie Christie, one of that era’s great incarnations of youthful glamour and freedom. The latest adaptation, probably not the last, is a swifter and more superficial movie, directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Carey Mulligan. Her Bathsheba is brisk and practical, frank and friendly, and a little impatient with the trio of suitors who admire her moxie even as they compete for the honor of suppressing it.

They are not bad guys. Well, one of them may be, but he’s also the only one who appeals to Bathsheba’s less rational side. All three, however, are satellites orbiting the planet of her will, which makes “Far From the Madding Crowd” feel like an unusually fresh and surprising romantic comedy. That’s not quite what Hardy or the filmmakers (David Nicholls wrote the script) intended: The story calls for two fatal gunshots and two more tragic and untimely deaths, and the musical score (by Craig Armstrong) swells with melodramatic portent. But for all that — and for the requisite lingering over landscapes and livestock; the scenes of peasant heartiness and genteel reserve; the frocks and hats and Victorian facial hair — there is some fun to be had on this carefully decorated merry-go-round.

“Far From the Madding Crowd” passes a kind of reverse Bechdel test: Nearly every time two or more men converse, they are talking about a woman. When they talk to her, she often responds like one of the women in Mallory Ortberg’s hilariously captioned online surveys of Western art history, who generally have better things to do than listen to men. When Gabriel Oak, a farmer played with understated but unmistakable virility by Matthias Schoenaerts, proposes to Bathsheba shortly after they have exchanged glances over a rustic fence, she brusquely refuses.

Not because she doesn’t like him — it’s clear that she likes him best — but because the prospect of marrying makes no sense to her.

At that point, Gabriel (though for obvious reasons everybody prefers his last name) is relatively prosperous and Bathsheba is penniless. After he loses his small farm and she inherits a much bigger one from her uncle, an awkward gulf opens between them. She hires him to tend her sheep, and he watches as she toys with the affections of William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a neighbor with an even bigger farm and an even manlier last name. (When it comes to the evocative christening of his characters, Hardy rivals Dickens and Shakespeare himself.)

Bachelor No. 3 is a military officer named Francis Troy (Tom Sturridge), who in a scene with no Freudian implications whatsoever impresses Bathsheba with his skilled swordsmanship. He has a former sweetheart (Juno Temple) and a fondness for vice that alarms Oak and intimidates Boldwood.

The narrative conspires to make Bathsheba choose and choose again until she gets it right, and her mistakes and spells of indecision are engaging without feeling terribly consequential. The mood of the film is less Hardy-esque than vaguely Hardy-ish. He rooted his chronicles of desire and its thwarting in a closely observed world of agricultural labor and ancient custom, an earthiness conveyed here by the occasional shot of a toad or a snail and a few bouts of hearty off-key singing. Hardy’s interest in the operations of accident and caprice — in the “purblind Doomsters” who governed human fate — is reduced to a few plot points. A feckless dog chases a flock of sheep over a cliff. A bride goes to the wrong church on her wedding day. It all feels a little flimsy.

Through it all, Ms. Mulligan smirks, sighs and sniffles, Mr. Schoenaerts smolders, Mr. Sheen scowls and Mr. Sturridge enjoys his mustache. They are all fun to watch, though only Mr. Schoenaerts seems interested in testing the deeper currents of longing, shame and pride that course beneath the surface. The most obvious thing to say about “Far From the Madding Crowd” is also the most bizarre, given the source material. It’s buoyant, pleasant and easygoing. That’s a recommendation of sorts, and also an expression of disappointment.

“Far From the Madding Crowd” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Sighs, smirks, sexy swordplay.

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The Literary Edit

Review: Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy

Having read – and thoroughly enjoyed – Tess of the D’Urbevilles towards the end of 2014, I was keen to read Thomas Hardy’s second entry in the BBC Top 100  as soon as possible. Voted the nation’s 48th best loved book of all time, Far From the Madding Crowd was Hardy’s fourth novel and originally appeared anonymously as a monthly serial in Cornhill Magazine.

Hardy offers the reader a rich and atmospheric backdrop to the tale as he describes the landscape that shepherd, Gabriel Oak, inhabits before introducing Bathsheba Everdene, the main protagonist with whom three different suitors fall in love.

Having inherited a farm from her uncle, Bathsheba is handsome, determined and independently wealthy and thus considered highly desirable by a number of men, namely shepherd Gabriel Oak, handsome soldier Sergeant Francis Troy and another farmer, William Boyd. Each of the suitors are very different in character, and suffer rejection at the hands of Bathsheba, who is determined to marry for love alone rather than any sort of material benefit a marriage may grant her.

As the novel progresses, the lives of Bathsheba and her suitors are cleverly woven and interlinked against a backdrop of rural Dorset that is as key a part of the novel as any of its central characters. Far less tragic than Tess of the D’Urbevilles, Far From the Madding Crowd highlights Hardy’s beautiful writing and masterful story-telling, making it plain to see why it was his first major literary success.

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Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

• December 15, 2019
• The Last Critic

Talks about Thomas Hardy can lead readers to various novels by him. And, for me, discussions on Hardy often come to one of the best novels by him (for me, again) – Far from the Madding Crowd, an 1874 novel. Though Hardy’s pessimism often comes to the fore when critics sit to hound his writings, we must appreciate that he never let his characters lose hope and lose what they loved (love, in most of the cases). Far from the Madding Crowd is a novel that celebrates the constancy of love – Oak for Bathsheba. I am Gaurav Shashi and here is my review of this novel for The Last Critic. 

In the Sphere:  

The book has been printed and reprinted many times since its first publication in 1874. There are many reasons behind this cycle of print-reprint. The book can be divided (assumingly) into three major parts – Oak’s revealing his love, Bathsheba flirting with Boldwood and Troy’s precise deceit with her, and finally Oak and Bathshebha’s reunion. There are various editions available for this book and one would prefer the Penguin edition or maybe Oxford Classics edition. However, the novel remains the same – a Victorian romance classic out and out with certain insertion of Hardy’s love for countryside and nature and his implicit rebellion against the urban adamance.  

The Book:  

I remember very well my professor praising Hardy’s style of writing from the very bottom of his heart. Thomas Hardy, he used to say, is a painter who can paint the flora and fauna with his words. Reading Far from the Madding Crowd offers the same admission and one cannot deny what my professor said. More than that, this novel exhibits Hardy’s command over prolonged narratives. He could stretch his novels just with the sheer quality of his language. 

“I shall do one thing in this life – one thing certain – that is, love you, and long for you, and keep wanting you till I die.”

This is, perhaps, the most-quoted line by Hardy that he ascribed to the shy and devoted lover Gabriel Oak in his novel. Hardy’s descriptions of minute events are wonderful to read and visualise. His characters are wonderfully portrayed and a reader can understand the entire plant just by the hint of a leaf. Implicit voices of women’s freedom and in their choices for life can be heard by the readers with a leaning for feminism. Likewise, the readers with an interest in Eco Criticism in literature have too many instances to extract in this novel. 

At the same time, one should remember that Far from the Madding Crowd might not arouse the reading audience of young age today as it did a century ago. This is chiefly because Hardy’s language and choice of theme are beyond the comprehension limits of the modern audience as the world has changed by many degrees. Hardy’s novel may be read only by those who have to read it – by compulsion or by strict choice. It is a classic in terms of language and set-up. It is not relevant today and this is the bitter truth! 

Conclusion:  

I have nothing against Hardy because I admire him for what he is! His novels are my favourites and I would love to read any of his published materials (except his poems) any day. However, Far from the Madding Crowd, being honest, cannot cross the periphery of intellectual discourse and syllabuses today. It has a limited readership because it cannot accommodate the ambitions of today’s’ lovers. It cannot be liked by many modern readers because it does not offer a happening plot. Things are there but just to be there and they depend on fortune rather than being actively involved in the course of action. Bathsheba strikes and she will strike the conscious of modern readers as well. Oak impresses with his shy and sincere attitude. Troy will a fanciful character for the readers and Boldwood may be judged as a person struck with misfortune and ego of Bathsheba unnecessarily. As a whole, Far from the Madding Crowd may impress you and may depress you as well! 

Should you read it? Yes! If you want to have a taste of Victorian Novels, you should read it. If you want to understand the Hardy-and-Fate theory, you should read it carefully. If you are a student of Victorian literature, you MUST read it. You can get a copy of this novel from Amazon India by clicking the link below. 

Buy the book – Amazon India – click here  

review by Gaurav Shashi for The Last Critic 

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Very wonderfully done book review by Gaurav. You have explained the concerns as well as the ideas you wanted to convey in clear terms. I will certainly recommend this to my friends and I would love to read more from you.

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Movie Reviews

'far from the madding crowd': counterprogramming writ victorian.

Bob Mondello

Far From the Madding Crowd features feisty heroines, sturdy heroes, and three — yes, three --€” men vying for the heroine's affection. Alex Bailey/Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

Far From the Madding Crowd features feisty heroines, sturdy heroes, and three — yes, three --€” men vying for the heroine's affection.

Genre flicks on steroids — that's the general rule for this time of year, whether we're talking superheroes, supercharged cars, or romance — and in that context, the lush, overstuffed costume epic, Far From the Madding Crowd is a perfect fit.

It's romance — and in an Avengers-dominated week, also counterprogramming — writ Victorian: a feisty heroine in crinoline, romanced by sturdy heroes who are handsome, reliable, smoldering men of few words. So few, in the case of shepherd Gabriel Oaks (Matthias Schoenaerts), that he's said a total of maybe 10 syllables to pretty, spunky Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) before surprising her one afternoon at her cottage door with a baby lamb and a proposal of marriage.

"I've never asked anyone before," he stammers embarrassedly when she doesn't immediately say yes.

"No," she smiles, "I should hope not."

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Carey mulligan returns to period drama for a thomas hardy classic.

Now, there's a subtext to this encounter. He's got a herd of sheep and what he figures are pretty good prospects. She's living off the kindness of relatives and has an education, which, for a woman in Victorian England, counts for not much. By that era's lights, he's kind of doing her a favor, with this marriage proposal, clumsy though he is. Still she turns him down, which looks like a smart move a few days later when their fortunes reverse — he watching helplessly as his sheepdog herds his entire flock over a cliff; she inheriting an estate from a wealthy uncle.

In no time, there's another guy — a wealthy land-owner (Michael Sheen) — making goo-goo eyes. And where in most romances, two handsome, sturdy men-of-few-words would suffice, this one has a third — a callow young soldier (Tom Sturridge) who speaks with his, um, sword, let's say (and yes, novelist Thomas Hardy intended that double-entendre).

I confess I wondered why anyone would want to remake Far From the Madding Crowd until I went back and watched some of John Schlesinger's 1967 version. Long, lavish and, Julie Christie notwithstanding, pretty dull, it doesn't stint on landscape, but isn't terribly compelling. Christie was a lovely flirt, but that's kind of all that the pre-women's lib version asked her to be.

This time, Carey Mulligan plays Miss Everdene, and like Katniss Everdeen, The Hunger Games heroine who would become her namesake a century or so later, she's made of sterner stuff, whether wading into a sheep-bath on a dare, or meeting the skeptical staff of her inherited estate.

"It is my intention to astonish you all," she tells them. And astonish she does, at least judging from the looks she gets from the men in her orbit.

Director Thomas Vinterberg has shaken off all vestiges of the pared-down minimalism that guided him when he made his Dogme classic, The Celebration . Here he's all about lush music, gorgeous landscapes, and romantic action in a story he and his screenwriter have tightened and intensified.

This Far From the Madding Crowd is almost an hour shorter than the '60s one, which means the madding now comes so close on the heels of the gladding and the sadding, that it isn't until the very end, that you realize you've been artfully shepherded — stampeded, really — right off an emotional cliff.

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Far From The Madding Crowd, film review: Carey Mulligan’s Bathsheba would fit in better in The Hunger Games

Thomas vinterberg's take on thomas hardy's novel is only vivid when mulligan is onscreen, article bookmarked.

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Far From The Madding Crowd may be set in late 1860s “Wessex” but one of the fascinations of Thomas Vinterberg’s new adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel is the light it casts on our own preoccupations. The publicity hasn’t been slow to remind us that the story’s protagonist, Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan), inspired the Hunger Games’ author Suzanne Collins to make her heroine Katniss into an ‘Everdeen' as well.

During the early scenes, Mulligan’s Bathsheba looks as if she might be on leave from The Hunger Games. She is shown riding a horse through the countryside. She may not have a bow and arrow but there is something Katniss and warrior-like about her.

We are made aware immediately that she doesn’t need men to protect her. She is too used “to being on her own,” “too wild (always has been”) and “too independent” for her potential suitors. She is by far the most vivid character in the film and that is ultimately its problem.

Everyone else seems a little wan by comparison. “If I’d ever want a husband, I’d want someone to tame me and you would never be able to do it,” she tells one of the suitors. The men flounder in her wake. “It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in a language made by men chiefly to express theirs,” she declares but even if she is a woman farmer and landowner in a rigidly patriarchal society, she is by far the film’s most articulate figure. Her suitors seem tongue-tied by comparison.

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Mulligan doesn’t just get the best lines and the most dramatic close-ups. She is given almost as many changes of costume as Nicole Kidman in Grace Of Monaco. Thomas Hardy was writing long before the days of Zara and Topshop but judging by Mulligan’s ever-changing wardrobe, Wessex must have had its share of high street retailers. We see her on horseback looking like Calamity Jane, in all sorts of bonnets and dresses of every colour.

Danish director Vinterberg was one of the original “little brothers” behind Dogme 95, the 10 point manifesto for low budget filmmaking drawn up by partner in mischief Lars Von Trier the mid 1990s. His version of Far From The Madding Crowd is handsomely and sensitively made. The film boasts a fiery and mercurial performance from Mulligan but it is a very long way removed from the pared down intensity of Vinterberg’s Dogme roots. The director is surprisingly conventional in his approach to his material. He is very fond of crepuscular lighting and of beautifully composed shots of the farm workers in the fields.

The film comes with the trappings of the best costume dramas. What we don’t always get a sense of is the suffering and desperation of the men around Bathsheba or of her own unhappiness. There is little of the searing emotional charge here found in such family-based Vinterberg dramas as Festen and The Hunt.

The film suffers from its relatively modest length. It clocks in at a little under two hours - and is thus nearly an hour shorter than John Schlesinger’s recently re-released 1967 film of the same novel starring Julie Christie. This leads to contraction in the plotting. Some characters are seen only fleetingly. For example, the film skirts over the sub-plot involving Fanny Robin (Juno Temple.) We are given little sense of what drives Sergeant Troy’s infatuation with her and even the scene in which she goes to the wrong church on the day of her wedding is rushed. Temple is very affecting but her role is turned into little more than a glorified cameo.

Mulligan’s Bathsheba is such a formidable, self-reliant figure that it is hard to credit she would allow herself to be taken in by Tom Sturridge’s charming but lightweight Sgt Troy. In the scene in which he eventually cuts a lock of Bathsheba’s hair, telling her not to flinch as he lunges with his sword at either side of her face, Mulligan manages to make us believe in Bathsheba’s growing erotic fascination with the soldier in his scarlet tunic. What seems far less plausible, given the sheer force of her personality, is that she would marry such a popinjay as a result.

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The filmmakers are so busy hurrying along the storyline that many of the actors offers sketches of their characters rather than full portraits. Michael Sheen gives a typically subtle and nuanced performance as William Boldwood, the wealthy neighbouring farmer who becomes obsessed by Bathsheba after she sends him a Valentine’s card as a joke. However, with only limited screen time, he can’t come close to matching the sense of desperation and utter devastation that Peter Finch brought to the same role in the Schlesinger film.

The film is at its strongest in the scenes between Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) As played by Schoenaerts, Gabriel’s accent may have as much Flemish as Dorset in it, but the Belgian is a brilliant actor who here brings a quiet gravitas to his role. Whether he is putting out fires, protecting the grain from storms or sharing his earthy wisdom with his mistress, he never loses his calm. He is besotted by Bathsheba but is able to stand up to her. She, in turn, is won over by his endurance and common sense. As she confides early on, she doesn’t think she loves him but she does “rather like” him.

As a heady melodrama, “Thomas Hardy’s classic love story” as the posters call it, this version of Far From The Madding Crowd doesn’t stir the emotions in the way that might have been anticipated. Nor does it offer us radical new insights into a story that has been dramatised for film and TV several times before. Instead, Vinterberg offers us a thoughtful, well crafted costume drama - but one which relies almost entirely on Mulligan to spark it into life.

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Film Review: ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’

Carey Mulligan makes a fine Bathsheba Everdene in Thomas Vinterberg's solid but unremarkable version of the Thomas Hardy classic.

By Scott Foundas

Scott Foundas

• Film Review: ‘Black Mass’ 9 years ago
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When Thomas Hardy named his fourth novel “Far From the Madding Crowd” in 1874, he almost certainly meant the title ironically — a riposte to the notion that the rural folk of his beloved English countryside somehow led simpler lives, less tempest-tossed by desire, than their urban counterparts. But you could almost mistake Hardy for a literalist on the basis of Thomas Vinterberg ’s calm, stately new film version — the fourth official filming of the novel (which first reached the screen as a 1915 silent), and a perfectly respectable, but never particularly stirring, night at the movies. Probably the Danish Vinterberg’s most accomplished foray into English-language filmmaking (after the gun-control allegory “Dear Wendy” and the futuristic Joaquin Phoenix-Claire Danes romance “It’s All About Love”), this pared-down if generally faithful adaptation benefits from a solid cast and impeccable production values, though the passions that drive Hardy’s characters remain more stated than truly felt. Still, the “Downton Abbey” set will find much to enjoy here, and should generate pleasing returns for this May 1 Fox Searchlight release.

Despite the charges of misogyny that have repeatedly been hurled at him through the retroactive prism of political correctness, Hardy was a writer of many tough-minded, resourceful female characters whose independence of mind and body set them at odds with the patriarchal codes of the Victorian era. Among the most enduring of those heroines is “Madding Crowd’s” Bathsheba Everdene ( Carey Mulligan ), a plucky, willful young woman of no particular means (like her latter-day namesake, Katniss), who nevertheless sees no compelling reason to settle down with a man she doesn’t truly love — even one as modest and sincere in his affections as the farmer Gabriel Oak ( Matthias Schoenaerts ), neighbor to Bathsheba’s aunt among the rolling Dorset hills. Gabriel’s hand, clumsily proffered and instantly rejected, is but the first of three that come Bathsheba’s way over the course of the novel (which, looked at one way, resembles a 19th-century “Dating Game”), as romantic and financial fates rise and fall, and time, as it is wont to do, marches on undeterred.

If Vinterberg does not immediately spring to mind as a likely Hardy interpreter, it may be because the author’s countryman, Michael Winterbottom, seemed to hold exclusive Hardy mining rights for most of the past two decades, during which he delivered a superior “Jude,” an India-set “Tess” (“Trishna”) and a massively underrated version of “The Mayor of Casterbridge” (transposed to the American West and retitled “The Claim”). But consider Vinterberg’s earlier work — especially his breakthrough “The Celebration” and the recent child-abuse drama “The Hunt” — and you can see that he shares a certain Hardyan understanding of insular communities and the sudden shifts of fate that can turn a patron into a pariah, or vice versa. He’s also found a very fine Bathsheba in Mulligan, who, at 29 (practically over-the-hill by Victorian/Hollywood standards), has added an appealing wistfulness to her fresh-faced-ingenue’s repertoire. Her Bathsheba is a less impetuous, more grounded creature than the one played by a radiant Julie Christie in John Schlesinger’s 1967 film version. When she delivers the character’s famous declaration, “I shall astonish you all,” Mulligan makes it sound like the person she’s most trying to convince is herself.

It is Bathsheba’s sudden ascent (via inheritance) to the land-owning class that ushers Hardy’s story into its second act, and which drives a further wedge between Bathsheba and Gabriel, who, having suffered his own reversal of fortune, finds himself working as a shepherd in her employ. From there, he suffers (mostly) in silence as Bathsheba capriciously flirts with the wealthy bachelor farmer Boldwood ( Michael Sheen ), before finally surrendering to the charms of the young Sgt. Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), himself on the rebound from the servant girl Fanny Robin ( Juno Temple ), who left him high and dry at the altar when she went to the wrong church by mistake. (Lo, the life-altering crises that have been averted by smartphones.)

Frank is, literally and figuratively, a swordsman of some repute — the basis for one of Hardy’s most famous passages, in which the uniformed soldier parries and thrusts his blade at a quivering Bathsheba, a transparent act of swordplay as foreplay. (“She took up her position as directed,” Hardy writes.) It becomes, in turn, the best scene in Vinterberg’s film, thanks largely to the cockeyed swagger of Sturridge, who has never seemed quite this dangerously alive in a movie. Reckless bravado seeps through Frank’s pores like a fever, and his words tumble forth in a sleepy purr, as if his every utterance were a seduction, or a dare. None of the other characters burn quite so brightly — in particular Gabriel. This may be the first time that the chameleonic, Belgian-born Schoenaerts (who made a big impression as Marion Cotillard’s brooding boxer beau in “Rust and Bone” and again in last year’s “The Drop”) has seemed less than entirely sure of himself onscreen, underplaying so much (and grappling with a come-and-go British accent) that the already recessive Gabriel risks becoming a peripheral character in what is, ostensibly, his own story. (It’s hard not to imagine what Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” star, Mads Mikkelsen, might have done differently with the role.)

Of course, one of the challenges in adapting “Madding Crowd” is that the novel has five main characters united by an omniscient narrator who not only knows the inner workings of their hearts and minds, but editorializes on their behavior as he goes along. Stripped of that device, Vinterberg’s movie (which was scripted by veteran British screenwriter David Nicholls) sometimes seems like a compass unable to find true north. And where Schlesinger’s film seemed to creak under the weight of its own epic portent, the new one lurches from one major event to the next without quite enough down time in-between, a Cliff’s Notes approach that clocks in under two hours (one full hour less than the ’67 version) but compromises the story’s panoramic sweep. It also reduces Fanny (and, with her, Temple’s guileless performance) to glorified cameo status, making it hard to understand why her ultimate fate, when revealed, sends another character into paroxysms of despair.

What does register at every turn is a vibrant sense of time and place that pulls us into Hardy’s bygone world even when the drama falters. Shooting on location in the real Dorset, Vinterberg and regular cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen rely mostly on natural light and spacious widescreen frames to capture the land in all its rugged, forbidding beauty — a look as transporting, in its way, as the fog-shrouded majesty of Polanski’s “Tess.” Kave Quinn’s muddied, weathered sets and Janet Patterson’s costumes add to the sense of a hard-working society where function trumps decorous forms. Composer Craig Armstrong’s richly orchestrated but sparingly used score does its best to articulate the bottled-up emotions the characters themselves can not.

Reviewed at Fox screening room, New York, March 26, 2015. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 118 MIN.

• Production: (U.S.-U.K.) A Fox Searchlight Pictures release and presentation in association with BBC Films and TSG Entertainment of a DNA Films production. Produced by Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich. Executive producer, Christine Langan. Co-producer, Anita Overland.
• Crew: Directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Screenplay, David Nicholls, based on the novel by Thomas Hardy. Camera (Technicolor prints, widescreen), Charlotte Bruus Christensen; editor, Claire Simpson; music, Craig Armstrong; production designer, Kave Quinn; costume designer, Janet Patterson; sound (Dolby Digital), Mitch Low; sound designer, Glenn Freemantle; associate producer, Joanne Smith; casting, Nina Gold, Theo Park.
• With: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple, Jessica Barden.

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One of the co-founders of the stripped-down Dogme 95 aesthetic might not sound like the most logical choice to direct Thomas Hardy ’s classic, sweeping romance “ Far From the Madding Crowd .”

But Thomas Vinterberg creates a rich aesthetic that combines both vibrant colors and intimate natural light. Whether his film is lush or rolling in the muck, it always has a tactile quality that makes it accessible, which is also true of the performances from his (mostly) well-chosen cast.

Carey Mulligan is radiant as the fiercely independent Bathsheba Everdene, a literary heroine who remains so vital, she inspired author Suzanne Collins when she was choosing a last name for the courageous Katniss in the “Hunger Games” series. Mulligan plays the part quite differently from Julie Christie , who was luminous but a bit more flirty and playful when she starred as Bathsheba in John Schlesinger ’s 1967 adaptation of the novel (which was a bit of a slog at nearly three hours). Christie’s Bathsheba used her girlishness and dazzling looks to assert herself in male-dominated Victorian England.

Mulligan’s simply does not care what anyone thinks of her, which makes her even more exciting to watch. She’ll seek someone’s advice, but she probably won’t follow it—especially when it comes to the complicated love life she never thought she wanted. After strong work in such eclectic films as “ An Education ” (which earned her an Oscar nomination), “ Drive ,” “ Never Let Me Go ” and “ Inside Llewyn Davis ,” this might just be the performance of her career. There’s power behind the depth of her voice that provides a fascinating contradiction with her birdlike frame, and a directness to her that’s reminiscent of a young Katharine Hepburn .

When Bathsheba tells the staff of the farm she’s recently inherited, “It is my intention to astonish you all”—in a bit of a tweak of that famous line from screenwriter David Nicholls —her conviction is clear. Bathsheba’s path to happiness, however, is far more circuitous.

“Far From the Madding Crowd” is all about the capriciousness of fate, and the way it can drastically alter the trajectory of a young woman who thinks she knows exactly what she wants in a place that's meant to be sedate and safe. You lose a scarf in the woods, or you show up at the wrong church for a wedding, or you send an impetuous valentine to a near stranger and suddenly, several lives have changed. Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen captures the equally variable rural surroundings with breathtaking style, from lens flares on a sunny day and verdant, rolling hills to pinky-purple sunsets and morning streaks of misty light.

At the film’s start, the orphaned but educated Bathsheba is living on a farm with her aunt in 1870 Dorset, about 200 miles outside London. When we first see her, she’s riding exuberantly across the countryside on horseback before leaning backward nimbly to avoid the scrapes of tree branches. (It’s all so symbolic, this early attempt to emerge unscathed.)

But the beautiful Bathsheba catches the eye of a nearby sheep farmer, a gentle giant named Gabriel Oak ( Matthias Schoenaerts ). Her freedom is the very quality about her that appeals to him; he quickly asks her to marry him and is quickly rejected. Schoenaerts, the Belgian star of the Oscar-nominated “ Bullhead ” and the Marion Cotillard drama “Rust and Bone,” offers an ideal combination of physicality and sensitivity, and he has strong chemistry with Mulligan from the start.

Gabriel and Bathsheba’s paths soon cross again, though, when he loses his flock in disastrous fashion and she inherits a farm from her beloved, deceased uncle. Suddenly, she’s a landowner—and she happens to need a sheepherder. At the same time, she connects (sort of) with the neighboring landowner, the wealthy and socially awkward bachelor William Boldwood ( Michael Sheen ), inadvertently enlivening sensations in him he never previously knew. Sheen, the veteran of the cast, prompts great sympathy for this lonely but insistent middle-aged man. If the great Peter Finch was more of a wild-eyed, creepy stalker in the last incarnation of “Far From the Madding Crowd,” Sheen makes you want to give him a hug. When Boldwood asks Bathsheba to marry him—and, like Gabriel, offers her a piano as part of the deal—her response is beautiful but brutal: “I have a piano. And I have my own farm. And I have no need for a husband."

But then she meets Bachelor No. 3—the arrogant and attractive Sgt. Frank Troy ( Tom Sturridge )—and suddenly, all her proclamations of self-sufficiency go out the window. In tackling the task of adapting Hardy’s text, Nicholls has abbreviated quite a bit and spelled out some emotions and motivations to expedite matters. Except for a few gaps, this mostly works, and it helps contribute to the film’s surprisingly brisk, engaging pace. But he was wise to retain the famous scene where Sgt. Troy shows off his swordsmanship in the woods, thrusting at Bathsheba from every possible angle in his regal, red uniform, leaving her breathless.

It is not exactly the subtlest form of foreplay, but it is the boldest moment in Sturridge’s otherwise strangely restrained performance. Terence Stamp was a force of nature in the role opposite Christie; he was confident and charismatic, obviously dangerous and untrustworthy but irresistible all the same. He was a sexy cad, while Sturridge is more of a pouty lad. It’s hard to believe this is the man who sweeps the headstrong Bathsheba off her feet.

Along those lines, Troy’s previous relationship with a servant from Bathsheba’s farm, which is so crucial to understanding his actions, gets short shrift here. It’s a casualty of the screenplay’s cuts and it reduces the presence of the appealing Juno Temple to glorified-cameo status.

Still, Gabriel is clearly the man who’s meant for Bathsheba of all the potential suitors pining for her affections. While Boldwood is too prudent and Troy is too much of a party boy, Gabriel obviously represents the middle ground between those extremes. But it’s not about the destination; rather, it’s about the shared friendship, respect and trust that create the foundation for a love that was always meant to be.

Just try to stop yourself from swooning.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence

119 minutes

Carey Mulligan as Bathsheba Everdene

Juno Temple as Fanny Robin

Michael Sheen as William Boldwood

Tom Sturridge as Sergeant Troy

Matthias Schoenaerts as Gabriel Oak

Hilton McRae as Jacob Smallbury

• Thomas Vinterberg
• Thomas Hardy
• David Nicholls

Director of Photography

• Charlotte Bruus Christensen

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