Based on the novel by Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd is the story of a young woman in Victorian Britain who finds herself being pursued by three different suitors as she copes with what she wants and the role she needs to take. Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and screenplay by David Nicholls, the film is a study of a woman who is offered opportunities to improve her life as well as give into the temptations of the world around her. Starring Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Juno Temple, Tom Sturridge, Jessica Barden, and Michael Sheen. Far from the Madding Crowd is a sublime and compelling film from Thomas Vinterberg.
Set in 1870 Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, the film follows the life of an independent-minded young woman who has inherited her uncle’s farm hoping to turn it into a source of income for a small British town as she is pursued by two different men while a farmer who works for her farm pines for her from afar. It’s a film that follows the life of this woman who is well-educated and humble as she is also an outsider of sorts that likes to work the farm as she has been raised by relatives. Yet, Bathsheba Everdene (Carey Mulligan) is also someone determined to make her own mark in the world as David Nicholls’ screenplay follow every move she makes through good and bad times as she struggles to maintain her independence as well as be pursued by three different men. The first in the farmer Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) is this man that is also an individual as he would court Bathsheba early on but after losing his own farm due to circumstances beyond his control. He would help Bathsheba make her farm profitable as it gets the attention of the second suitor in William Boldwood (Michael Sheen).
Boldwood is a character that is just as interesting as Bathsheba and Gabriel as he is a wealthy man that could give Bathsheba a lot to offer as he is also quite kind and has some respect for Oak. Bathsheba, Gabriel, and Boldwood are definitely characters who are more well-defined in not just their development but also as people that characters actually care for. Something the film’s third suitor in Sgt. Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge) doesn’t have even though his character arc is well-defined as someone who was supposed to marry someone else but a simple misunderstanding leaves him heartbroken until he meets Bathsheba and seduces her. While his character is meant to be this despicable and dishonorable man that Oak doesn’t approve of, he is someone that seems to be more fleshed out but never develops into something more engaging as he is a major flaw in the film’s script.
Thomas Vinterberg’s direction is definitely mesmerizing in terms of the world that he presents as it is largely shot on location in Dorset as well as other rural parts of Britain. While many of the wide and medium shots around the locations are simple, Vinterberg does maintain something that still revels in style as he creates something that owes a lot to period films of the past. Yet, he would create some compositions in the medium shots and close-ups to maintain an air of intimacy in the way the characters interact while displaying bits of restrained sexuality in the way Sgt. Troy seduces Bathsheba in a scene involving a sword. There are moments where there is a liveliness and a sense of community to the farming scenes where Vinterberg definitely has some unique visual ideas for the way the film progresses as many of the scenes set in spring, summer, and fall have something that feels open. Yet, when Sgt. Troy enters the picture is when things become tense and tumultuous where the look changes into something drab and then comes winter where it play into not just decline for Bathsheba but also loss and desperation. All of which play into the journey she took and the role she seems to crave for and try to return to in a world that isn’t welcome to individual ideas. Overall, Vinterberg creates an engaging though flawed film about a woman trying to define herself in Victorian-era Britain.
Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of gorgeous sunlight for many of the exteriors as well as the way some of the interiors are lit for the scenes set at night. Editor Claire Simpson does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts for some of the film‘s intense moments. Production designer Kave Quinn, with set decorator Niamh Coulter and supervising art director Julia Castle, does amazing work with the set design from the interiors of the estates of Bathsheba and Boldwood to the look of the small town where many of the locals socialize at. Costume designer Janet Patterson does fantastic work with the costumes from the dresses that Bathsheba would wear throughout the course of the film to the clothes of the men including Sgt. Troy‘s uniform.
Makeup artist Belinda Parish and hair stylist Tracy Smith does nice work with the hairstyles of the women of that time as well as some of the beards and mustaches of the men. Sound designer Glenn Freemantle does superb work with the sound as it play into the liveliness of the social gatherings and meeting as well as in the sparse moments in the intimate scenes involving some of the characters. The film’s music by Craig Armstrong is wonderful as it has these lovely orchestral flourishes that play into the drama while being low-key in some moments with the music soundtrack filled with folk songs of the time including a ballad sung by Bathsheba and Boldwood.
The casting by Nina Gold and Theo Park is terrific as it feature some notable small roles from Tilly Vosburgh as a relative of Bathsheba early in the film, Bradley Hall as a young farmhand in Joseph, Sam Phillips as a recruiting sergeant for the army, and Hilton McRae as another farmhand in Jacob who proves to be quite loyal to Bathsheba and Oak. Juno Temple is wonderful as Sgt. Troy’s old flame Fanny as a young woman who was supposed to marry him but a misunderstand would lead her to ruins. Jessica Barden is fantastic as Liddy as Bathsheba’s aide who observes a lot of what is going on as well as have her say about what Bathsheba should do. Tom Sturridge’s performance as Sgt. Troy is definitely one of the worst aspects of the film not because his character is underwritten but also for the fact that Sturridge often presents himself as smug at times while never really do anything to make the character interesting.
Michael Sheen is brilliant as William Boldwood as a wealthy but lonely neighbor who has land that is quite profitable as well as court Bathsheba kindly where it’s a performance of restraint and charm as while Sheen also displays some humility as someone that is just a good man. Matthias Schoenaerts is amazing as Gabriel Oak as a farmer who lost it all as he works for Bathsheba where he tries to maintain his feelings for her as it’s one of the film’s best performances as Schoenaerts display that anguish but willingness to be loyal to the woman he cares for. Finally, there’s Carey Mulligan in a sensational performance as Bathsheba Everdene as a young woman who has inherited an estate and farm from her late uncle as she hopes to make it worth something again as she struggles to maintain her independence while coping with the complications of love as it’s one of Mulligan’s finest performances so far.
Far from the Madding Crowd is a stellar film from Thomas Vinterberg thanks in part to great performances from Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Michael Sheen. Despite some of the shortcoming aspects of the script, the film is still an interesting period drama that explores a woman’s search for herself in a world filled with many rules to keep her down. In the end, Far from the Madding Crowd is a superb film from Thomas Vinterberg.
Thomas Vinterberg Films: (The Biggest Heroes) - Dogme #1-The Celebration - (It’s All About Love) - (Dear Wendy) - (Submarino) - The Hunt (2012 film) - (The Commune)
© thevoid99 2016
(Winner of the Vulcan Prize, Ecumenical Jury Prize, & Best Actor Prize to Mads Mikkelsen at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival)
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg and written by Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm, Jagten (The Hunt) is the story of a kindergarten teacher who is accused of sexually abusing one of his students as his life unravels. The film is a look into a man whose simple act gets him in trouble all because of a misunderstanding as a small town goes into a mass hysteria over something he didn’t do. Starring Mads Mikkelsen, Alexandra Rapaport, Thomas Bo Larsen, and Annika Wedderkopp. Jagten is a mesmerizing and gripping film from Thomas Vinterberg.
Set in a small Danish town just before and around the Christmas holidays, the film revolves around a kindergarten teacher who is accused of sexual abuse after one of his students made a claim unaware of what she’s done. Immediately, the life of Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen) unravels as he was living a good life despite going through a divorce where a simple kiss from a little girl would ruin everything. Especially as the girl is the daughter of his best friend Theo (Thomas Bo Larsen) who isn’t sure what is going on as a series of misunderstanding happens and no one is sure what is true. It’s not just Lucas who becomes ostracized but also his teenage son Marcus (Lasse Fogelstrom) during a visit as he is one of the few who believes his father where he is treated with disdain by people who knew him.
The screenplay by Thomas Vinterberg and Tobias Lindholm is set in the span of two months where the first act is set in November, the second act in December, and the climatic third on Christmas Eve. Yet, Lucas is a man that everyone knows as he is part of a local hunting society and drinks with the guys. He’s also someone that people could trust as Theo’s daughter Klara (Annika Wedderkopp) likes Lucas a lot as she also likes to play with his dog. Her action which was really just innocent would cause a lot of problems because of these misunderstandings. Especially as Klara would eventually tell the truth but Theo’s wife Agnes (Anne Louise Hassing) isn’t sure if Klara really understand the idea of the truth. There aren’t any villains in the film but there are people who do make some very bad decisions in the film’s second half where they would do things that are very evil where Lucas becomes a victim for all of the wrong reasons.
Vinterberg’s direction is very engaging for not just the simplicity that he maintains for much of the direction but also in its moments of restraint. Shot in rural areas in Denmark including some of its forests and mountains, Vinterberg doesn’t use a lot of wide shots in favor of something that is very intimate in its usage of medium shots and close-ups. Notably as Vinterberg keeps things lively in the way Lucas interacts with the children at the kindergarten building where he does play their games but also knows that he is still an adult. During a scene where Klara is questioned by the kindergarten building’s supervisor Grethe (Susse Wold) and a child psychiatrist named Ole (Bjarne Henriksen), Vinterberg maintains that intimacy but also create a tone that is unsettling where it raises a lot of questions abut the girl and what is happening to her. Though Grethe and Ole aren’t trying to create a bad situation, it’s the way they handle things that would be cause for a lot of what is to come. Even as Lucas has no idea what he’s done where Vinterberg would have the camera follow him with some handheld work but in a restrained fashion.
The film’s second half feature moments that are quite intense where it has elements of violence in not just Marcus lashing out his father’s friends but also in how Marcus is being ostracized. Notably in the third act on Christmas Eve as Lucas is all alone and needs to do shopping but how he is treated from locals to even the market’s manager show some of the darkest aspects of humanity. It’s a moment where it shows how far a lie can do things and push a man to extremes where it would be witnessed by some key characters. Even as it is followed by this climatic moment where Lucas unleashes his anger over what has happened where even Theo is forced to question what is really going on as he is one of those who had ostracized Lucas. The film’s ending doesn’t just play into Lucas’ isolation but also in the fact that he will never shake the lie that ruined him. Overall, Vinterberg creates a haunting yet visceral film about an innocent man’s life being destroyed by a lie.
Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography in the way many of the exteriors look in the day including some scenes set in the autumn and winter along with some interiors where it looks natural with some lights for some of the scenes set at night. Editors Anne Osterud and Janus Billeskov Jansen do brilliant work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some jump-cuts to play into some of the emotional moments in the film. Production designer Torben Stig Nielsen and set decorator Rasmus Balslev-Olesen do fantastic work with the look of Lucas‘ home as well as the kindergarten place that he works at. Costume designer Manon Rasmussen does nice work with the costumes as it’s mostly casual for the look of the characters in the film.
Hair/makeup designer Bjorg Serup does terrific work with the look of Lucas following a beating he would receive in the third act as it play into all of the trouble he has endured. Sound designer Kristian Eidnes Andersen and co-sound editor Thomas Jaeger do superb work with the sound from the way some of the drunken meetings sound early in the film to the quieter yet tense moments in the film such as Klara‘s interrogation scene. The film’s music by Nikolaj Egelund is wonderful as it is very low-key where it only appears in its ending as it is just this plaintive, folk-based piece while other music is played on location.
The film’s amazing cast features some notable small roles from Bjarne Henrikson as the child psychologist Ole, Anne Louise Hassing as Theo’s wife Agnes, Susse Wold as the kindergarten organizer Grethe, and Lars Ranthe as Lucas’ brother Bruun who is one of the few that believes Lucas as he would also be there for Marcus. Lasse Fogelstrom is superb as Lucas’ son teenage Marcus as this kid who is trying to understand what his dad did as he is one of his father’s few defenders where he tries to fight back at even those he knew as a kid. Annika Wedderkopp is fantastic as Klara as a little girl who has no clue of what she did or why as she displays this air of innocence of a girl that has very little understanding of the world. Alexandra Rapaport is brilliant as Lucas’ Swedish girlfriend Nadja who at first doesn’t believe the accusations towards Lucas only to be more confused once she is forced to deal with other parents a she also works with Lucas at the kindergarten.
Thomas Bo Larsen is excellent as Theo as a longtime friend of Lucas who isn’t sure what is going on as he believes his own daughter while also wanting to hear Lucas only to reluctantly ostracize him. Finally, there’s Mads Mikkelsen in an incredible performance as Lucas. It’s a performance that isn’t just full of restraint but also with a sensitivity as it has him being a guy that people could trust and hang out with only to then be ridiculed and ostracized. Yet, Mikkelsen maintains a calm demeanor for much of the film until the third act where he is pushed as well as feeling a sense of rage that has been building up as it is truly one of his defining performances.
Jagten is a phenomenal film from Thomas Vinterberg that features a tremendous performance from Mads Mikkelsen. Featuring a great supporting cast as well as the idea of how a lie can ruin a man’s life, it’s a film that manages to be a lot of things and more as well as display a sense of innocence in a world that is often very cruel. In the end, Jagten is a sensational film from Thomas Vinterberg.
Thomas Vinterberg Films: (The Biggest Heroes) - Dogme #1-Festen - (It’s All About Love) - (Dear Wendy) - (Submarino) - Far from the Madding Crowd (2015 film) - (The Commune)
© thevoid99 2016
(Co-Winner of the Jury Prize w/ La Classe de neige at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival)
Written by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov, Festen (The Celebration)/Dogme #1 is the story of a family coming together to celebrate a patriarch’s 60th birthday until someone unveils a secret that would ruin everything. The first film under the Dogme 95 movement founded by Vinterberg and Lars von Trier, the film is an exploration into a family’s life in the middle of Denmark as it all comes apart by dark secrets. The result is a gripping yet mesmerizing film under the Dogme 95 movement.
A family gathering at a posh hotel in Denmark sets the stage for an event where a birthday celebration becomes a disaster as secrets are unveiled. Notably as the eldest son of the family claims that his father had sexually abused him and his late twin sister many years ago when they were children as everything starts to come apart. It’s a film that plays into a family coming undone as dark truths are unveiled along with many accusations in the course of an entire day in this posh hotel where a patriarch’s 60th birthday celebration becomes a day in hell for him.
The film’s screenplay slowly plays into an entire day where a day which was to be about something good ends up becoming something far more terrifying. Even as things become more complicated when the eldest daughter introduces her family to her new boyfriend in an African which only roused her boorish younger brother who is wild and a known-racist. Things do intensify since the eldest son makes this announcement as if a series of time bombs start to go off where all of these secrets and such become unveiled. It’s not just in the patriarch but also in some of the members of the family as it also relates to the youngest son and his own troubled marriage in which he treats his wife very poorly.
The film’s direction is quite engaging for the fact that it is shot entirely on hand-held cameras as part of the Dogme rules while there’s a few tricks where the camera capture scenes through the aid of a few things without the use of anything mechanical and such. Instead, the director (who is not credited for this film under the Dogme rules) goes for something that is simple as there’s a lot of close-ups and medium shots along with some strange camera movements that is common with a lot of films shot in hand-held cameras. Much of it plays into the drama where things do intensify as it becomes more unsettling as it goes on. Even as the director captures everything that is happening such as moments of silence where no one feels easy about everything that had been unveiled. Overall, what the director has created is a very intense yet eerie film about a family coming apart during a patriarch’s birthday.
Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle does amazing work with the naturalistic yet low-key photography as it‘s shot on grainy film to play into something that feels very real. Editor Valdis Oskarsdottir does brilliant work in creating some unique cuts to play into the drama and action as well as some of the film‘s dark humor. Sound designer Morten Holm does superb work with the sound to capture everything that goes on in location (as part of the Dogme rules). The film’s music by Lars Bo Jensen is wonderful as it’s very low-key as it’s played on location rather than added in post-production (as part of the Dogme rules) as well as bits of classical music that is played in the background.
The casting by Rie Hedegaard and Lene Seested is phenomenal as it features notable small appearance such as the film’s director as a cab driver, John and Erna Boas as a couple of grandparents, Lars Brygmann as the hotel receptionist, Lene Laub Oksen as the dead twin sister Linda, Bjarne Henriksen as the head chef Kim who knew about what happened, Klaus Bodman as the party’s toastmaster, Therese Glahn as a maid named Michelle who had an affair with the youngest brother Michael, Helle Dolleris as Michael’s mistreated wife Mette, and Gbatokai Dakinah as the African-American boyfriend of the eldest sister Helene. Trine Dyrholm is terrific as the maid/former flame of the eldest son Christian who tries to keep everything in tact while discovering some truths about what happened to Linda.
Birthe Neumann is excellent as that family matriarch Else who tries to keep things going as she’s either in denial or doesn’t know what really happened. Paprika Steen is fantastic as the eldest child Helene who would find her sister’s suicide note as she copes with the entire day as well as her youngest brother’s behavior towards her boyfriend. Thomas Bo Larsen is brilliant as the youngest child Michael as he is a total asshole to everyone as he tries to please his father and get in his good graces. Henning Moritzen is amazing as the patriarch Helge as a man who is trying to maintain order as he is the one that is being celebrated as he copes with the accusations that are made by his eldest son. Finally, there’s Ulrich Thomsen in a phenomenal performance as Christian as the eldest son who accuses his father of molesting him and his twin sister as he tries to reveal the truth about his own family.
Festen is a remarkable film as it features great cast and amazing ideas based on the Dogme 95 rules. It’s a film that isn’t just a compelling story about a family coming apart but also a film that plays into dark secrets that marks the end of a façade that was perpetrated by its patriarch. In the end, Festen is a tremendous film.
Thomas Vinterberg Films: (The Biggest Heroes) - (It’s All About Love) - (Dear Wendy) - (Submarino) - The Hunt (2012 film) - Far from the Madding Crowd (2015 film) - (The Commune)
© thevoid99 2015
