Far From the Madding Crowd (2015)

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD  (2015)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Thomas Vinterberg
    Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Tom Sturridge,
    Michael Sheen, Juno Temple, Jessica Barden
I'm guessing here, but it seems like "Far From the Madding Crowd" would make a great date movie, what with Carey Mulligan as plucky, headstrong heroine Bathsheba Everdene and dreamy hunk Matthias Schoenaerts as one of the three guys who want to marry her. It's set in rural England in the 19th century, and the three would-be suitors are Schoenaerts as an honest shepherd who Bathsheba doesn't appreciate nearly enough, a wealthy neighbor (Michael Sheen) who owns all the land Bathsheba doesn't, and a cavalier cavalier (Tom Sturrridge), who Bathsheba should know better than to get involved with, which, of course, she does. I've never read the Thomas Hardy novel, but this feels like a condensation, with details left out of the narrative that you suspect the book would fill in. It's lovely to look at, though, with all those pastoral landscapes along the seacoast, and there's plenty of wistful longing and a surprising amount of tongue-in-cheek humor to go with the tragedy and romance. Try watching it with a date sometime. See what you think.