Despite his prominent position in the canon of English literature, Thomas Hardy has never really been a mainstay of the cinema in the way that, say, Dickens or (at least in recent years) Jane Austen have been. Although there have been occasional excellent Hardy adaptations, such as Schlesinger's "Far from the Madding Crowd" or Polanski's "Tess", a number of his novels have never been the subject of a feature film. There were, however, television adaptations of two of his novels in the mid-nineties, "The Return of the Native" in 1994 and "The Woodlanders" three years later. I deliberately watched the two films over the same weekend for the purposes of comparison.
The two novels have basically similar plots, both being organised around a "love pentagon" along the lines of "A loves B, who loves C, who loves D, who loves E", although in "The Return of the Native" things are complicated by the fact that D (Eustacia) still has feelings for C (Wildeve) despite her marriage to E (Clym). In "The Return" the pentagon involves three men and two women; in "The Woodlanders" it is the other way round. A is Marty South, a young peasant girl who is in love with the woodsman Giles Winterborne (B), but he is in love with his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury (C). Grace, however, rejects Giles's proposal of marriage under pressure from her nouveau-riche father, who regards him as being not good enough for his daughter. She eventually marries the well-born young doctor Edred Fitzpiers (D), but the marriage is not a happy one and he begins an affair with a rich widow named Mrs. Charmond (E).
Hardy regarded "The Woodlanders" as one of his best novels, and many contemporary reviewers agreed with that assessment, but twentieth and twenty-first century critics have not always followed suit. Certainly, as a film this version is not anywhere near as good as "The Return of the Native" which contained some excellent acting performances, especially from the young, pre-stardom Catherine Zeta Jones.
The main weakness is the casting of Rufus Sewell as Giles. Giles Winterborne is reminiscent of some of Hardy's other characters, notably Gabriel Oak in "Far from the Madding Crowd" and Diggory Venn in "The Return of the Native". All three are plain and simple countrymen, decent and uncomplaining, who patiently and faithfully continue to love a woman despite an initial rejection. The difference is that Giles is the tragic hero of "The Woodlanders", whereas Gabriel and Diggory are eventually rewarded for their patience. (In those two novels the full force of the tragedy falls upon others). Sewell, however, seems to mistake Giles's patient stoicism for stolidity and lack of emotion, and plays him throughout as a dull, unresponsive fellow, wearing virtually the same expression, one of hangdog resignation, in every scene. I was surprised to see him smile briefly at one point, but presumably he needed to keep a second expression in reserve, just in case the first one should get worn out through overuse.
None of the other acting contributions stand out, and Emily Woof makes a bland and forgettable Grace. The most memorable thing about her is her odd surname; I had to see it in print several times before the penny finally dropped and I realised that she was not called "Emily Woolf". (Just as it took me a long time to realise that Uma Thurman really was called "Uma" and not "Una"). As with most British "heritage cinema" productions the costumes and period detail are well done, and the woodland scenery is attractive, but this is far from being the best historical drama of recent years. 6/10
The two novels have basically similar plots, both being organised around a "love pentagon" along the lines of "A loves B, who loves C, who loves D, who loves E", although in "The Return of the Native" things are complicated by the fact that D (Eustacia) still has feelings for C (Wildeve) despite her marriage to E (Clym). In "The Return" the pentagon involves three men and two women; in "The Woodlanders" it is the other way round. A is Marty South, a young peasant girl who is in love with the woodsman Giles Winterborne (B), but he is in love with his childhood sweetheart, Grace Melbury (C). Grace, however, rejects Giles's proposal of marriage under pressure from her nouveau-riche father, who regards him as being not good enough for his daughter. She eventually marries the well-born young doctor Edred Fitzpiers (D), but the marriage is not a happy one and he begins an affair with a rich widow named Mrs. Charmond (E).
Hardy regarded "The Woodlanders" as one of his best novels, and many contemporary reviewers agreed with that assessment, but twentieth and twenty-first century critics have not always followed suit. Certainly, as a film this version is not anywhere near as good as "The Return of the Native" which contained some excellent acting performances, especially from the young, pre-stardom Catherine Zeta Jones.
The main weakness is the casting of Rufus Sewell as Giles. Giles Winterborne is reminiscent of some of Hardy's other characters, notably Gabriel Oak in "Far from the Madding Crowd" and Diggory Venn in "The Return of the Native". All three are plain and simple countrymen, decent and uncomplaining, who patiently and faithfully continue to love a woman despite an initial rejection. The difference is that Giles is the tragic hero of "The Woodlanders", whereas Gabriel and Diggory are eventually rewarded for their patience. (In those two novels the full force of the tragedy falls upon others). Sewell, however, seems to mistake Giles's patient stoicism for stolidity and lack of emotion, and plays him throughout as a dull, unresponsive fellow, wearing virtually the same expression, one of hangdog resignation, in every scene. I was surprised to see him smile briefly at one point, but presumably he needed to keep a second expression in reserve, just in case the first one should get worn out through overuse.
None of the other acting contributions stand out, and Emily Woof makes a bland and forgettable Grace. The most memorable thing about her is her odd surname; I had to see it in print several times before the penny finally dropped and I realised that she was not called "Emily Woolf". (Just as it took me a long time to realise that Uma Thurman really was called "Uma" and not "Una"). As with most British "heritage cinema" productions the costumes and period detail are well done, and the woodland scenery is attractive, but this is far from being the best historical drama of recent years. 6/10