Rating: 
Summary: Possibly the most depressing film I've ever seen.
Review: Don't get me wrong. The acting is great and very believable. But the situations these poor people go through. I called my doctor halfway through it to order some Prozac. I would definitely suggest renting before buying this film. Chris Eccleston and Kate Winslet are great and their performances could definitely teach a thing or two about acting,(They're also great in Shallow Grave and Holy Smoke, respectively) but there's no way I could watch this again. It's just too painful.
Rating: 
Summary: OK film
Review: Kinda boring film. The performances are pretty good, especially Kate Winslet's, but the script is so full of those 19th century romance cliches(ala Rob Roy and Dances With Wolves). The only truly exciting part of this film is Kate's nude scene. For all the sex addicts out there who couldn't get enough of her in titanic will go nuts over this one! Other than that, if you're in the mood for a soppy and overlong drama, than this is for you.
Rating:
Summary: OHHH Jude
Review: When I first saw the movie I was overcome with tears. Not only does the ending leave you heartbroken, but the acting is amazing. The performance by Christopher Eccleston was electrifying. He plays Jude, a working class man who wishes to become a teacher. Jude then falls in love with his cousin Sue. Sue is played by Kate Winslet. If you think she is a terrible actress, then you should see her in this movie. She is wonderful and totally outdoes herself. All I can say that this is movie worth buying.
Rating:
Summary: Seen It Before
Review: This movie has a lot of good attempts. Attempts for stories, side-stories, and some very good acting too. It's very melancholic, unsnobbishly philosophic, and very sad too. But somehow, you've seen it all before (except of the young child killing his sisters and committing suicide).
Rating:
Summary: Excellent performances!
Review: As a huge Kate fan, I loved this movie. This may not be a cheery comedy, but the actors in this story are first-grade fabulous.
Rating: 
Summary: Horribly depressing!~
Review: Dead children hanging in a bedroom-images of crows flying through a black and white sky--Kate's genitals covered in blood (not MY idea of a fun film), a plot that goes nowhere, the gorgeous Liam Cunningham wasted in a useless role--what a mess this movie is. Doom, gloom--if you are depressed or prone to it, do not watch this movie. It will take you DAYS of Marx movies to recover.
Rating:
Summary: Relentlessly grim it depresses and absorbs in equal measure
Review: Thomas Hardy was perhaps the most depressingly lyrical of 19th century novelists, Jude the Obscure the novel on which this film is based was his final work of fiction and caused a great controversy when it was published in 1894. I had the (mis)fortune of studying a few of his peoms in highschool. The degree of which you appreciate his work depends on how much you value your happiness. Michael Winterbottom's film doesn't shy away from the grimness of its source material, as a result the film can not be enjoyed, only admired. The first half of the film doesn't work nearly as well as the second, it feels like what it is, a large literaly novel compressed into a series of arbitrary scenes that have trouble following one another, i.e. long periods of time pass and characters change within minutes. It is only in the second half, when the film gets oppresively bleak that it becomes truly absorbing. Christopher Eccleston plays Jude Fawley, a self educated man who wants to be a scholar, but is reduced to a stonemason(carving stone for us mortals) by the British class system. When he meets his cousin Sue Whitehead played by Kate Winslet it is love at first sight, but trouble arises when he reveals that he is married and she in turn marries another man in a fit of defiance. Eccleston is superb as Jude, bright and idealistic in the beginning and gradually losing his faith towards the end, and in turn Winslet gives one of her many terrific performances. There are clear arcs which their characters follow, her feminist Sue being broken by an unforgiving society/god/religion and his Jude similarly disheartened. Jude actually has the exact same theme as Graham Greene's The End of The Affair which was adapted into a masterful film by Neil Jordan. Both accuse God (or the belief in him) of being vicious to the free spirited. But Jude doesn't have the poetic flow of that film. The much talked about (at least among my classmates) sex scenes are not the titilation they are in most hollywood films. The sex here is bare and filled with mournful guilt and is therefore genuinely erotic. Winterbottom documents everything with graphic attention to detail, he gives us gutted pigs, rabbits with broken necks and lots of cold sweat. You can smell this film. Hossein Amini who adapted Hardy's book also adapted The Wings of The Dove. I prefer Jude to that film because it is more emotionaly stirring. But most of the emotions it stirs are not pleasant ones. This might sound strange but I admired how relentless this film is, its a change from most of the studio movies we normally see, perhaps I can call it "refreshingly grim" if there is such a thing.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing yet beautiful
Review: As with most Kate Winslet films, this isn't for everyone. Kate Winslet delivers one of her best performances and proves that she's an actress willing to take risks. Brilliantly acted, wonderfully directed, Jude (although it is tough to watch) is a brilliant film worthy of your attention.
Rating:
Summary: It's a powerful movie
Review: I always love to watch good Brit movie and I think this one was one of the best. Kate Winslet gave a wonderful performance. This movie was sad but also touching.
Rating:
Summary: Jude...
Review: ...was one of the saddest movies I have ever seen. Kate Winslet is the most talented actress of my generation. Her performance, as usual, was in my eyes flawless. She is an asset to any film that she appears in. The scene where her child takes it upon himself to take care of their problems is one of the saddest scenes on film I have ever witnessed. Her heartbreak and saddness made me feel as thought that horrible thing had just happenned to me personally. I loved this film.
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