Jude

...but i loved it. i was at the library getting a movie for girls night and then i saw the jacket for this movie. first thing i notice it has kate winslet, its historical, and the tag line is really catchy so i check it out, drive to my friends house and start the show. instead of a cute feel good romance i'm confronted with a heavy movie of death, love, hate, and betrayal.

now i found this movie to be amazing. the story was very much true to hardy's novel (well up until the end) and while the film is dark it is wonderfully so. it is not a lighthearted period romance but rather a study on human behavior and how it can go terribly wrong when the heart becomes involved. it is obvious that they love each other, and the fact they are cousins is secondary... they had never known each other as children as most children know their cousins. they met as adults and fell in love as such. their story is an impassioned one of trail and error romances, exploring ones desires and drives, the burden of nonconformity, and what can cause as love to break down.

very good, very powerful, but a very abrupt ending with one of the best closing lines. ****/*****

You can't discuss this movie without discussing the novel of the same name. The movie stays remarkably true to the novel; from character to location. If anything, the movie enhances the novel--through Christopher Eccleston's fantastic performance we see in Jude the light of desire and the crush of defeat.

Though another review characterizes Thomas Hardy's depiction of females as misogynistic, I disagree. The character of Arabella is certainly a villain at her heart, but the character of Sue Bridehead is a mirror of our tragic hero, Jude. Through their interactions, we see not only a stunning performance by Kate Winslet, but also a relationship of equals in misery. Certainly, the males in the novel and movie are depicted at least as wretchedly as the females.

This movie draws the viewer in and gives you insight into Jude's world, from it's optimistic beginning to its tragic end. Definitely not a date movie, but absolutely fine film-making.

The adage "a great novel rarely makes a great movie" is not as true as is supposed, but I'm sorry to say it's true here. Director Michael Winterbottom and writer Hossein Amini fail here because they fail to understand the town of Christminster, the town Jude loathes and yet wants to be accepted by so desperately. The town functions almost as a character in the novel, but here you feel nothing from it, and therefore the context for everyone's actions is removed. And except for Sue and Arabella(well played by Kate Winslet and Rachel Griffiths, respectively), the characters are underdeveloped). It looks appropriately dark, and the other actors are good, but I felt at the end like there was something missing.

This film has remained in my mind since the first time I saw it (back in the winter of 1997) and has earned its place as my favorite movie of all time; while not technically spectacular, commercially successful, or critically supported, it is both a wicked strike at oppressive Victorian morals, a sour commentary on the effects of religion on a society, and an extremely well-crafted love story about a relationship that endures years of torment on both sides and a horrible tragedy. Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccleston are the two best British actors working today (check out "Heavenly Creatures" and "Shallow Grave" if you don't believe me) and I applaud Michael Winterbottom for bringing this great book to the screen.

Set in late 1800's Britain, "Jude" traces the life of the title character (Eccleston), a learned but humble stonemason, who courageously struggles with life's disappointments only to be struck with unspeakable tragedy. A beautifully depressing human drama, "Jude" traverses the highs and lows of life through its dreary tale of one man's steadfast conviction to his beliefs and to the woman he loves. Not for everyone, "Jude" is a film for realists into serious drama which many will likely regard as a "downer". (B+)