Tess of the D'Urbervilles (1998)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Tom Whitehead, based on the novel by Thomas Hardy
Directed by Ian Sharp
Starring Justine Waddell, Jason Flemyng, Oliver Milburn, John McEnery, Lesley Dunlop, Rosalind Knight

Released by: A&E
Rating: NR (suitable for all ages)
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format

My Advice: Rent it

Tess Durbeyfield (Waddell) has lived a rough life in the Victorian English countryside. She has definitely not had much luck in the ways of love. After she takes a position with her slightly more upper-class family, she is attacked and raped by her cousin Alec (Flemyng), but that's just the beginning of her troubles. There's nothing to be done when you're fighting social convention--but the only thing you have to lose is your own happiness.

Hardy's novel contains one of the strongest tragic heroines in all literature, which really makes it a shame that this adaptation to the screen couldn't have been stronger than it was. It's not horrible, but it just lacks oomph. Waddell's performance was very good; she seemed to understand the size and scope of her role and not be intimidated by it. She is everything Hardy's heroine is supposed to be; beautiful and tragic. The rest of the cast around her is simply mediocre. Flemyng's Alec is really not threatening in any way. It takes quite a bit of suspension of disbelief to go along with the idea that he attacks and rapes Tess. The thing this film has going for it is its production design. The costumes and settings are very haunting and very much help to set the scene. But still, Waddell and all of this costuming and set design, when coupled with the supporting cast, still only add up to a very mediocre adaptation of this novel.

The DVD is featureless, which is a shame. We always like commentaries around here, so hearing from director Sharp, scribe Whitehead, or the cast would have been helpful. Or even a featurette talking about the making of the telefilm and also what it's like to adapt Hardy to the small screen. Some information, even text-on-screen about Hardy, would have been of some educational value as well.

I would recommend cracking the Hardy's novel instead of watching this movie. I'm sure the movie you'd see in your head would be much better than this.