FAR from the MADDENING CROWD-an Outstanding Adaptation Starring Carrie Mulligan

The sumptuous screen adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Maddening Crowd," is far & away one of the most passionate & unforgettable film renditions of a great British classic.  The filming is flawless. The British countryside of the 19th C is captured in all its beauty & muck.  We experience the social Victorian restraints of the times and realize the importance placed on propriety.  These imposed norms wrought pangs of guilt, pity & desires.  Mulligan plays an admirable Victorian woman of virtue with strength & perseverance.  Despite her character's poor choice of a suitor, the flawless direction & impeccable cast cause this movie to resonate with pain & romance. Tom Sturridge plays Mulligan's dashing cad of a husband with wicked perfection.  Michael Sheen & Matthias Schoenaerts play Mulligan's other love interests with debonnaire & palpable sexual tension.  The stunning cinematography adds a rich, vibrant textile that provides a gateway back in time.  This is no ordinary representation of Hardy's classic novel.  FAR from the MADDENING CROWD should far outnumber the horde of films with Oscar nominations.