The Mayor of Casterbridge

My Netflix list is about 200 movies long, and the Netflix website is SUPER slow. I get on there when a movie I wanted to see in the theater but didn't because I just couldn't justify paying a babysitter plus the 8 bucks for the ticket because it wasn't a "big screen" necessity comes out on DVD. Did you follow that? I put that DVD at the top of my queue, and while I'm there, bump a few others I'm in the mood to watch up there as well. So if I don't get on there for a while, I get a surprise in the mail! This week I was surprised with "The Mayor of Casterbridge," starring Ciaran Hinds. I read the book when I was 19 or 20, so my memory of the story was a bit hazy, but I remembered liking it a lot. I didn't have high expectations for the miniseries, despite the cast, because it was made for TV and no one had told me anything about it at all. I was captivated from the opening scene to the final credits. The music, the cinematography (sp?), and the acting came together to tell Thomas Hardy's story in a miniseries that was moving and beautiful.

The story opens with a young couple and small baby arriving at a market day fair. They stop in a tent for a meal, which ends up being a sort of soup, which, for a little extra cash, can be laced with rum. The husband drinks bowl after bowl of laced soup, and ends up auctioning off his wife and baby to a passing sailor. 20 years later, that wife and daughter appear at the same fair, inquiring after Michael Henchard, who has become mayor of Casterbridge, has kept a vow of temperance for 20 years, and is the richest and most successful corn merchant in the county. They are reunited, but keep his shameful past a secret from the town. However, his pride and stubborness reappear after a business rival arrives in town, and their lives are all affected by his selfish choices.

Thomas Hardy's specialty is finding a character flaw, in this case, pride, and illustrating how that flaw can lead to the ruin of relationships and a downward spiral of self worth. Henchard is described as a large, brooding, serious and sometimes dangerous man, and Ciaran Hinds embodies all of these characteristics in this production. Donald Farfrae, Henchard's Scottish rival, is played by James Purefoy (also seen in A Knight's Tale as the Prince). I enjoyed his acting, which was perfect, but I was also hypnotized by his Scottish accent. The rest of the cast was also great, although I think they could have done a bit better in casting Elizabeth Jane. She looked like she was on the brink of tears the entire movie. I know it's a tragic story, but there are happy parts, too.

The movie stayed true to the novel, which I found refreshing. Hardy's novels include so much description that anyone wanting to know details for costuming, casting, geography and dialogue can simply read the book and have all the information they need to make a good movie. It's amazing how rarely that actually happens. It was wonderful to watch a movie and think, "This is exactly how I pictured this when I read the book." The music was beautiful, and, more importantly, added to the movie, and didn't distract from the storytelling. (Have you seen Ladyhawke? Because that is an example of really bad music. Electric guitar while running towards a castle? Really?)

I highly recommend this one. I must warn you, though. It does not have a happy ending. It is not a good one to watch if you're depressed. It will make you cry like a little girl. But it is an excellent story and worth the emotional rollercoaster.