Hey, look, another Victorian-era movie that basically has the same plot as all other Victorian-era movies: a fiercely independent woman must fend off suitors who want to marry her! Thankfully, Far from the Madding Crowd, an adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel, is a step above many of the others, even if in the end it still doesn't leave a lasting impression.

Carey Mulligan turns in a fine performance as Bathsheba Everdene, a woman whose parents hated her so much they named Bathsheba Everdene. Thanks to an inheritance and a keen intelligence, her fortune and influence grows as the story progresses, while her friend Gabriel Oaks (Matthias Schoenaerts) starts with some wealth only to get so fucked over by a rebellious sheep dog (no joke) that he ends up losing everything. The two characters' lives intertwine, even as Bathsheba encounters various marriage proposals and business opportunities that test her will to be independent.

And Gabriel's willingness to be perpetually friend-zoned.

Unlike most other Victorian-era period pieces these days, Far from the Madding Crowd avoids the stereotypical British-people-making-dry-and-witty-comments-to-one-another-for-two-hours format. It's a wholly serious affair, strengthened by a decent screenplay and a bleak and grimy look and feel.

If you're not familiar with the source material, like I wasn't until I read the Cliff Notes on Wikipedia (are Cliff Notes still a thing?), Far from the Madding Crowd crushes through the various plot points at a furious pace, at least early on. While director Thomas Vinterberg and screenwriter David Nicholls somehow manage to avoid making the film feeling rushed, some pretty big things happen with very little explanation and often with no more than a shrug thrown in to emphasize said big things. In short, it isn't always easy to follow--or at least isn't always easy to comprehend the significance of what is happening.

Still, the filmmakers do a solid job all around, making the most of a movie that spans what seems like a decade in only two hours without feeling choppy or entirely surface level. Some of the characters are underdeveloped, but the two leads are fully fleshed out and have distinct and compelling personalities and motivations.

As far as Victorian-era dramas are concerned, Far from the Madding Crowd is a surprisingly decent entry. In the end, is there anything here that will leave me talking about this movie years, or even only months, from now? No. But since Hollywood's infatuation with this era and the existing source material persists, and you could do far worse than this latest adaptation.

Review by Erik Samdahl.