Jude (1996)

British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom didn't make a particularly good film until Welcome to Sarajevo, and this curiously dry adaptation of Thomas Hardy's last novel is a good example. Christopher Eccleston plays Jude Fawley, a self-educated stonemason who dreams of attending university but identifies with the working class. Kate Winslet is his cousin Sue Bridehead, a young woman with suffragette leanings and a position as a teacher's assistant. When the two enter into an illicit union, they are condemned to the margins of society, ultimately resulting in a horrifying tragedy. Winterbottom takes an oddly lean approach to Hardy's deterministic story, which leaves a viewer feeling short on emotion just when one needs it for the from-bad-to-worse third act. Welcome to Sarajevo proved that Winterbottom needs a whole other level of personal involvement to make a film that inspires him. Jude isn't one of those lucky films. --Tom Keogh Amazon.com

Watch Something Else!

Two hours of my time were wasted by watching this dreary film. I kept hoping it would get better, but no. It's relentlessly cruel, achingly futile and supremely depressing. Not even it's two very talented stars could elevate this material. Watch anything else! September 9, 2008

A good soundtrack in search of a movie.

About the only thing this movie has going for it is the excellent music. The producers of this film are out of their mind if they expect any viewer who's not screwed-up in the head to feel sorry for the two stupid main characters just because their sick, incestuous, and adulterous lifestyle is incompatible with the world they live in. If you want to leave your entertainment center in a good mood, don't watch this! May 5, 2006

A tangled web of breaking social codes

This was Winslet's pre-Titanic post-Heavenly Creatures film baed on the Thomas Hardy novel. It's a story with very shocking social themes for the period setting: cousins in love, one being married to a woman who has committed bigamy, illigetimate children, fratricide, social exclusion, poverty, adultery, and all sorts of class struggles made harder by very unpopular social choices. The film is long, detailed, complicated, and there is an unusual chemistry between Winslet and her co-star. It's hard to day what the theme or "moral" of the story is but does lend itself to social commentary. The characters are victims of many social demands of the time and prove that doing everything in the name of love can be a very bad thing. They just can't get ahead in life because of their choices. In the end the love destroys both of them with Winslet turning to religion in repentance and her cousin/lover forced to live alone and in yearning for her. March 2, 2006

AN EXCELLENT MOVIE .NOT FOR KIDS VERY VIOLENT.

I JUST WATCHED THIS DVD AND ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW.KATE WINSLET AND CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON GIVE STELLAR PERFORMANCES.THE STORY TAKES PLACE IN SCOTLAND.IS VERY VIOLENT,AND VERY DEPRESSING.THERE ARE A LOT OF MIND GAMES PLAYED.THE ENDING IS VERY SAD`AS THEY LOSE 3 CHILDREN TO SUICIDES.WHAT A MOVIE NOT THE USUAL FAIR,BEAUTIFULLY FILMED.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED,ONLY IF YOU HAVE A STRONG STOMACH.DO NOT LET YOUR CHILDREN WATCH THIS THANK YOU . November 5, 2005

Social Shocker

Michael Winterbottom who directed "Welcome to Sarajevo" & "Butterfly Kiss" helmed this project that sank like a stone at the box office. Thomas Hardy's last novel "Jude the Obscure" was so poorly received that he didn't write another. But the thing about good period piece adaptations is that they remain interesting long after their initial release. This 1996 film is no different in its DVD release.

As the brooding Jude Fawley Christopher Eccleston who was in "28 Days Later" & "The Others" with Nicole Kidman does a good job with the many emotional layers of this character. Born in the lower class, he longed to be educated. But his hormones cause him to marry Arabella in an ill-fated arrangement. Then his attraction to his cousin and his dedication to their illicit love are entrancing.

Australian actress Rachel Griffiths from the "Six Feet Under" TV series and who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for "Hillary & Jackie" does a good job in the part of Jude's wife Arrabella. The character in the screenplay seems not well fleshed. We're not totally sure why the two break off.

Kate Winslett with her 3 Oscar nominations ("Sense & Sensibility," "The Titantic," & "Iris") is a vivid actress upon whose face a range of emotions and nuances are reflected. As Jude's cousin Sue, she is a feminist prototype. We watch her aversion to religion and then her embrace of it after the death of her children in amazement as the actress covers such range.

At Jude's urging, Sue marries schoolteacher Phillotson, but it is a loveless affair. Liam Cunningham plays Phillotson excellently and delicately. His affection for Sue is as delightful as it unrequited.

Eduardo Serra did the cinematography as he did for "Beyond the Sea," "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Widow of Saint-Pierre." The look of the film is exquisite and lyrical.

Thomas Hardy's story is hardly the social shocker it was in its day. However, the violence to the children is so tragic that it leaves the viewer drained and disappointed. In the end, this is a valuable picture filled with excellent performances and a classic story. Enjoy!
October 24, 2005

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