Save your money for something good and enjoyable

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

As a huge Hardy fan, I thought this adaption of one of his most popular (and accessible) novels was pretty much faultless. I've noticed a trend with movies over the last few years to roughen up the nineteenth century, to make the characters more naturalistic and it works exceptionally well here. The characters look entirely at home and realistic in their setting and the film is as much a tribute to a vanished, rural world as it is to love. More so, perhaps. Although the adaptation makes Gabriel and Bathsheba's relationship more romantic than it was in the novel (his iconically unromantic line "whenever I look up..." was left out), it is nevertheless not the main delight of this film for me. This movie wonderfully recreates rural life in Dorset, and created a surge of nostalgia about the vanished rhythms of farming life. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys nineteenth century novels, but also to any romantics out there because, of course, Gabriel and Bathsheba's story is heartrending and delightful at the same time.

I watched this adaptation of Hardy's novel for the first time this evening, hoping it would at least have some of the spark of the original 1967 version. It does not. Carey Mulligan was cool, distant and just not convincing, whereas Julie Christie was sexy and emotional as well as being a hard-headed business woman. The male leads in this new version were equally like cardboard cut outs, although Gabriel Oak did have something of the original Gabriel about him. The memorable scenes from the original version just were not there, for example the meeting of Troy and Bathsheba at Maiden Castle, the actual Iron Age hill fort, was played out in a wood.....and was not at all sexy. The lesser characters also did not come over as country farm workers....the scenes where they sang and got drunk just were not good enough. If you want to get the closest feel to what Thomas Hardy was writing about, stick to the 1967 version and read the novel too.

This could've been straight forward, but it takes time to tell a couple of stories. I'm not sure on what this is based on, nor have I read (about) it, I went in this completely free of that all. So while it was obvious this is a period piece, I didn't exactly know where this was trying to get.It seems like this is a compendium of short stories where we get a couple of things thrown at us. While this is good to fill the running time, I couldn't help but wonder if there was a short cut to the inevitable. But then again, where would the drama be, if it was all that easy, right? The acting is great and the settings and costumes are phenomenal too. If you're into this stuff, you'll absolutely love it

Far from the Madding Crowd is a movie that lets us dig into the extraordinary Thomas Hardy genius that gorgeously scales his unique style of story building. David Nicholls knits a fine screenplay to complement the powerful Hardy plot. Thomas Vinterberg on the other hand helms sheer magic. His direction is subtle, focuses on the call of the hour and displays only the best bits he thinks worth depicting.Born in this era I didn't have the good hap of watching the first one first, so I decided to accept whatever was flung before me. The setup even though modishly shot doesn't even for once gives away the intended timeline. You can't help but compare it to the likes of Gone with the Wind. There are magnificently shot landscapes that will compel you to marvel at innate scenery our planet offers. Lush farms and the tranquility surrounding it will force you to have second thoughts about all the urban choices you made.SPOILERS AHEAD: When we look at the cast, Carey Mulligan was an extraordinary find. The role she plays – Bathsheba Everdene is a girl with education, an independent woman who doesn't want to be tied down by promises of love. She can't be picketed down like someone's property, until she hits an infatuation herself in the form of Sergeant Francis Troy played by Tom Sturridge. She becomes bewitched at once, slave to her emotions and that's when a terrible mistake happens. Like she puts it "between jealousy and distraction" she marries him. It is hard not to feel sorry for her to find the inconsiderate guy that doesn't give two rats about her, and two jilted lovers who only hoped for the best in the backdrop. Carey's character will also peeve you beyond limit when she turns down brilliant advices by Gabriel Oak played by Matthias Schoenaerts. But isn't that how life happens to us all? One moment we think we are right only to tumble and rise again. Bathsheba is quite relatable in that respect, and she gets forgiven as well.The sheep bit in the beginning was one of the gloomiest unfortunate events to have befallen Oak. It was impactful in a way that was capable of flinging you in a sudden gush of emotions. There was nothing Oak could have done to stop that from happening. As the sheep fell all I could remember was being the "The Catcher in the Rye". Really powerful stuff! The thing that miffed me was Gabriel Oak's acting. Even though the script desired him to stay taut like a rock, we don't see him nail any kind of emotion ever. His act is banal and makes you wonder if he was the right choice for the role. William Boldwood played by Michael Sheen, au contraire acted brilliantly and aced his character to perfection. Jilted finds a meaning on his face, as he takes the gun to pass the eventual poetic justice. Also, I couldn't help but notice there was no such gut-wrenching drama to it, presence of which could have possibly made the movie even better. However, in the end every frame was worth it.A very well written, acted and shot flick! Far from the Madding Crowd will impel you to question the choices your reckless head makes.