Jude

Rating:
Summary: Jude the Confused: "Why is everyone suddenly so likeable?"
Review: While I realize a filmmaker can't be expected to slavishly follow the original text word for word, most go too far in remaking the characters as they see fit. "Jude" is a good example. In this version, Sue has been crystalized from a flighty woman "in love with being loved" to an opinionated pre-feminist. Arabella has peeled off several layers of crassness to reveal a pragmatic, self-sufficient person who is simply trying to get by. Even Aunt Drusilla must have found better living through medication; she's now a basically good-hearted person who cares deeply for her adopted nephew! After I got past those little changes, I had to take a skeptical look at Jude himself -- with everyone around him now presented in such a sympathetic light, you start wondering, "What's HIS problem?"

For example, since Arabella's basic lack of compassion is never exposed, one can only wonder why Jude leaves the house as she's butchering the pig: Is he sickened by the sight of blood? Is he repulsed by seeing his bride up to her elbows in pig entrails? In the book version, the issue was that Arabella wanted to prolong the pig's death to make the meat tastier, while Jude insisted on putting the poor creature out of its misery. In the movie, you might assume he'd thought bacon grew on trees.

Another change from book to film: "Jude the Obscure" was considered scandalous when it was published, but what can shock a jaded '90s audience? Hmm... *ponder*... Oh, I know! More sex scenes! Suffice it to say, if you've ever wondered what Kate Winslet looks like in the buff, you need wonder no more. As for Christopher Eccleston, a fig leaf would've covered everything we didn't see. There's a lot more eroticism here than the book called for. Whether that's a good thing is to be determined by the eye of the beholder.

The ending, like the title, is sharply abbreviated. Without the book as a reference, you'll be left wondering how things all turned out.

Overall, I thought the movie failed to either remain true to the original or stand on its own merits.

Rating:
Summary: Ack.
Review: Thomas Hardy's final novel is a very good book, almost a great book. This movie takes the major themes of the book -- religion, education, temptation, and man's curious position in this world -- and summarily discards most of them. It injects "erotic" scenes that were absent from the book, plays extremely fast-and-loose with Jude and Arabella's relationship, shreds the characterization (cf. Aunt Drusilla), and just generally makes a muddled mess of things. Arabella and Sue (sorry, Winslet fans) are terribly miscast, and Eccleston is a doubtful Jude indeed. From the abridgement of the book's title, which is Hardy's finest and among my favorites, to the choppy scene breaks (admittedly, a flaw of the original novel), this movie just doesn't do the book justice.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: This is the finest adaption of an Thomas Hardy novel yet. When I first watched it I was amazed by both Winterbottom's direction and Winslets acting abilitys. The movie is one of those you can only see if your in a good mood ie. Blade runner, I personally thought Christer Eccleston was fine but why did they need to show Winslet having a baby in a bloody mess but of all the scenes only one is wrong, When Griffins visits Jude he gets ready to go then when Winslet strips off fully nude and stops him going he has no emotion towards griffins at all.

Rating:
Summary: Didn't Paul Write a Better Song?
Review: Paramount Feature: a 20 year old Kate displaying every supple amenity.

Rating:
Summary: WINSLET VEHICLE
Review: Never having read the book on which this is based I was not sure what to expect. This is a period piece, and Kate Winslet is beautiful and stunning here as always. However, lest you think the story will be boring, which it seems to be from its first 20 minutes, wait and see the development of the plot. A young man, Jude Fawley, studies all the time. He wants to go to college, but he falls into lust with a young woman (Rachel Griffiths) and she claims to be pregnant. He marries her and defers his dreams of going to college. She eventually runs off and leaves a letter stating that she was never pregnant. You think this is the last you will see of her, but it isn't. It never is in cases such as these. Jude goes off to college and there is meets Sue. Winslet as Sue is a bright, witty, intelligent and unconventional woman who will not bend to the conventions of society or of the church. Her cousin, Jude, is quite a scholar and falls in love with Sue even before he realises she is his cousin. Eventually they fall in love with each other despite the fact that they know it is wrong to be in love with one's own cousin. Winslet bears two children with Jude, and sometime during all of this, Griffiths returns and gives Jude custody of the child she did indeed bear him. The family is poor but seemingly happy, and they travel around to keep people from finding out their secret (having children out of wedlock with one's own cousin is not looked upon fondly). However, just when things seem to be changing economically, the child Jude had with Griffiths murders the other two children and then hangs himself. Sue turns on Jude and leaves him, spending her life almost exclusively in church, suddenly changing her entire belief system. It is a sad, gripping, and heartbreaking story. Very unpleasant, but the acting, scenery and the believability is all there.

Rating:
Summary: Ouch!
Review: Pretty bleak and depressing script, but so well acted I found it all quite riveting. I've read 'Tess' and 'Far from the Madding Crowd,' but not 'Jude the Obscure;' nevertheless, you quickly learn what to expect from Thomas Hardy, wet blanket of English letters: philosophy over authenticity, and inescapable tragedy. You'll want to hang yourself in the orchard after reading them. This film, however, is genuinely interesting. Plenty of subtle shading, certainly some real shocks. Fans of Eccleston's buttocks in 'Elizabeth' get a second helping, while Kate goes for broke with full frontal nudity and a gory birthing scene. The casting is very good, the leads strong, convincing, the directing and cinematography exceptionally good. You still have to wonder why they bothered. Hardy's sometimes superficial plotting does manage to evoke some human truths in the process, but not the kind you normally treasure. Heavy doses of arbitrary justice, heartache, mortality, humiliation, regret; cruelty. I'm glad to have finally seen it, but I wouldn't necessarily want to see it again, or own it.

Rating:
Summary: Challenging!
Review: In the tradition of Thomas Hardy, this film challenges core social assumptions. Specifically, the fact that Jude and Sue are cousins in the pre-modern era forces them to enter the margins of society. Both Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccleston are superb actors. As a previous reviewer mentioned, it is a breath of fresh air to see that they did not cast some pretty-boy to play the part of Jude. With regard to Winslet's performance, this film puts her role in Titanic to shame! Despite the fact that this film was pretty depressing, it had a lasting and emotional effect on me. If you are looking for an intellectually inspiring film, this is definitely one to watch!

Rating:
Summary: There are really no words to describe how amazing Jude is
Review: Jude is probably the most harrowing and draining films I have ever seen. Not only is the tragic story nearly too much to bear, the direction of Michael Winterbottom guides us through the characters emotions and hardships so that we empathize with them every step of the way, yet he doesn't take too much control. One of the ways he achieves this is by being as inatrusive as possible; he lets the camera capture the images without necessarilly guiding the audience. His style is very objective, showing you the raw emotions of the protagonists and what they go through while being unbiased. It's up to you to figure out if what the characters are doing is wrong or not. On another note, the acting is the best I've ever seen. I saw this movie before Kate Winslet did Titanic, and I was completely astounded by her talent. Winslet and Christopher Eccleston bare all for us to see. Apparently, during the shoot and after the shoot, Winslet ended up crying to let out all the emotion she had been tapping for the role. Eccleston would be obsessed with running- that was his way of letting the tension go. The fact that they themselves felt so much is an indication of everything they conveyed on the screen. The director may be great, but without these two the movie wouldn't be near to the same quality as it is. After seeing this movie, I watched as the credits rolled by. I couldn't move. I was mesmerized and drained by what I saw, and for weeks afterward I couldn't stop thinking about this movie. See this movie- own it. But be prepared for the greatest film experience thus far.

Rating:
Summary: movie is ok, actoers are good, why can't it be perfect
Review: There must be something wrong with me, I couldn¡¯t feel the deep shock about this movie, which I think a great tragedy usually pertains to. Eccleston and Winslet¡¯s performances are wonderful, the movie is, to be honest also quite well made, however this will only make me more confused about the story.

You can tell Jude¡¯s feeling all the time, the depth of his longing, his happiness, and his pain. But who can tell what Sue persists? Her behavior seems brusque, that¡¯s what the story would tell us? I feel there was no tragedy between Jude and Sue, if there were, it¡¯s Jude¡¯s, and if it were, it¡¯s a lame one, which sometimes makes you feel it¡¯s a bit artificial.

But it¡¯s a pleasure to find out how excellent the performances of those actors are in this movie. I wonder how Winslet is convinced by Sue¡¯s character during her performance, however she managed. As for Christopher Eccleston, I would risk seeing any movie provided he is in it.

Rating:
Summary: This one is great
Review: This is one of my all-time favorite movies. When I rented it I had to watch it twice in three days; once was not enough. I realize that it is bleak and depressing, but that does not detract from the great performances, the beautiful love story, the mesmerizing music, and the top-notch cinematography. This film really puts you back in time, and makes you care about these two people very deeply. Sue is one of the most interesting heroines I've seen in the movies, and Jude is an incredibly tragic but very likeable character. I love this movie!