Adam Bede (1992)

Wonderful production

This production carefully re-creates English countryside life, but they are not country bumpkins, rather they are carefully drawn good and flawed people who pursue their happiness and are often very articulate.

The acting, especially by Iain Glen and Patsy Kensit, is great.

The sets realistically depict the country setting, and the cinematography complements what's happening in the story.

The things the characters say are often astonishingly astute. It's like one pithy comment after another. I guess that's why George Eliot is considered one of the greatest writers. Their observations are still relevant today, as they touch on the heart of human affairs. Example, when something goes wrong one of the characters mentions how "things happen quite contrary" (or something like that), which made me think, "aha, that's 'Murphy's Law' observed 150 years ago."

After watching a masterpiece of a story and production like this, you wonder about the simple-mindedness of much of the other stories we see.

April 10, 2008

Excellent

I disagree a bit with the other reviewers here (at the time of my writing, there are three). I thought the movie was extremely well-done and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I have not read the book, so I do not have that added perspective. I do think Adam Bede, the main character, is an upstanding moral fellow. I do not think he is so black and white as the editorial review suggests, that he cannot see shades of gray. He is concerned not only for his own well-being, but is also concerned for those he loves, as well. I did not take him to be so stuck in his moral absolutes, that he judged others unfairly.

Adam loves Hetty. Hetty is beautiful and aspires for something more than working in the village. On the back of the box and maybe in the book, she comes across as selfish and vain. In this movie, she comes across as wanting more than she has, but not out of selfishness or vanity, out of mild ambition and desire-- the same way most of us would want something more if our prospects were bleak. However, this is Victorian England and the class system make this almost an absolute impossibility. Hetty foolishly ignores the probability that an affair with an aristocrat will go nowhere, and she falls in love with the kind and handsome landowner. She has an affair with him and gets pregnant, despite the fact that she's led Adam to believe she is interested in him and despite the fact that he loves her and intends to marry her.

This is a heartbreaking and suspenseful film. All the characters are likeable and the "villain" isn't really one person, it's a whole culture-- the class system and the obstacles one faces if he or she doesn't have a title and money behind him or her.

Although there is no happy ending for Hetty, it's not as bad as it could have been (no spoilers here), and the end result seems fitting and bittersweet.

Definitely recommended. March 3, 2008

Adam BeBe

If you like English movies and novels, then you will probably like this movie. It was a little dark at times but I still liked it. November 12, 2007

Well done, but too short!

It is just too bad that they condensed this fantastic story into so short a film. What they have done is done well, but there are so many layers to the characters that are just left out. I think if I had not read the book some of the character's choices and actions would have seemed too sudden or unjustified, due to the lack of character development.
I really enjoyed the portrayal of the characters and the acting itself with one exception. Patsy Kensit, though a fine actress, is too old to be playing Hetty. She also plays her as too worldly wise. Hetty is passionate and selfish, yes, but in spite of her desire to be worldly wise she is still very naive. She is described in the book as being like a soft downy peach with the stone hidden inside. I think the vain ignorance of her own naivitee is sadly lacking in this portrayal and makes you wonder what Adam ever saw in her at all.
Again, the rest of the movie is wonderful. Dinah and Adam and the other characters are spot on, but there needs to be more--especially if you have not read the book. October 4, 2007

Adam Bede-A developing character

The story charts Adam Bedes development as he deals with two personal tragedies the death by drowning of his drunken father, the betrayal by his first love Hetty Sorrell and his best friend Arthur Donnithorne. The book is full of graphic descriptions of life in bygone times in a small rural community which contrasts strongly with life of today. Adam learns many hard lessons before he finds a new and richer love and the description of this love is beautifully drawn. May 14, 2007

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