Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 20-June-04
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Far From the Madding Crowd (1967)

The ghost of Thomas Hardy might take offense at this, but fables learned as a child came back to me when I watched "Far From the Madding Crowd," John Schlesinger's sweeping adaptation of Hardy's 1874 novel. (Fables about Goldilocks, the haughty princess, and the guy who complained of too much noise.) The beautiful young heroine, who has the unwieldy name of Bathsheba Everdene, begins an emotional journey by refusing to marry an honest sheepman whom she views as unexciting and unworthy. After inheriting a farm from a deceased relative, Bathsheba barely staves off the proposals of a neighboring landowner, an older bachelor whose attentions border on obsessive. Finally, she meets a callow soldier who offers neither the integrity of her first suitor nor the wealth of her second, and of course she falls madly in love with him. The requisite tragedy ensues, but it is followed by recognition, understanding, and, lo and behold, a happy ending. The moral of the story? Sometimes you have to be taught how to see what's in front of you; sometimes you must go to extremes to come back to the middle.

"Far From the Madding Crowd" is a long movie, and yet it never lets you under the skin of its characters. As such, the cast is perfectly chosen. One look at Julie Christie and you comprehend Bathsheba's spirit and high expectations, as well as why men would pursue her. As the sheep tender, Alan Bates exudes a simmering masculine dignity (over which anybody but the starry-eyed Bathsheba would swoon); as the neighbor, Peter Finch (of "Network" fame) displays the right mixture of gravity and desperation; and as the soldier, Terence Stamp simply oozes that come-hither brand of narcissism that many poor suckers find irresistible. These people don't require a lot of dialogue or explanation. They represent different ways of approaching life and the rewards that justly follow therefrom. As Bathsheba reacts to each of her beaux in succession, she begins to perceive the measure of a man and also the measure of herself. From a deliberate distance, the audience can see each step of the way why she makes her mistakes and how she learns from them.

What the length of the film fully develops is a striking impression of rural Victorian England, in all its grey, demanding loveliness. In addition to the standard shots of period costume and architecture, Schlesinger allows the camera to linger over the curves of the landscape, the bountiful hides of sheep, the comforts of the country manor, and the rituals of men whose lives are attuned to nature. He makes excellent use of popular music from the 19th century, weaving it into the story as it must have been woven into daily life. Even while presenting an ageless tale, the movie transports the viewer to a specific time and place that looks real but possesses a magical quality when watched from a couch in the 21st century.

The events in "Far From the Madding Crowd" depict common human weaknesses and conventional human revelations, so it may appear too general or predictable to some. But taken as a whole, it can be appreciated as a fairy tale whose lessons are rendered more powerful by the method of their telling.

Copyright © 2004 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.