The Mayor of Casterbridge

Fifty years ago my teachers strongly recommended to read the "Mayor of Casterbridge" by Thomas Hardy for a study of English. Somehow I never "found the time", though in the meantime I saw the film, read the novel and loved the story of "Far from the madding crowd" by the same author. Having at last watched the two-part DVD-version of Michael Henchard's fate I seem to have won a new part of the world for my horizon ! Ciaran Hinds with all his power represents the rise and fall of a complex character whom you must love, pity and despair of, all in the same moment. Such characters do exist, Thomas Hardy knows how to describe them, and the actor seems to have learned every word about them by heart. Luckily his four main partners stand up bravely against this standard. The wonderful picturesque town of "Casterbridge" and the carefully chosen landscape give adequate room to unfold the figures. Strangely enough the fact that this is a tragedy adds to its reality. After watching the film twice I seem to have found in its hero a very valuable new acquaintance. So my teachers were right after all...

THE MAYOR OF CASTERBRIDGE was the first classic novel I ever read, and was, I believe, the reason for my adoration of them. So, it was with some trepidation that I approached this film, knowing how badly destroyed some book to movie plots can get, and having grown up only knowing miniseries as something not so great.

I was thankfully very wrong. The movie was written just as though the novel were played out before your eyes. The characters were perfectly cast, the most minute detail noted (note how Susan Henchard looks pretty at certain angles, and plain the rest of the time). There were no major diversions from the plot, and only a few small details left out.

Over all, this did justice to a great novel, and while it is not for everyone, it is a must see for any Hardy fan.

Ciarán Hinds delivers a stunning performance as "The Mayor of Casterbridge", a poor agrarian man who, in a drunken state, sells his wife and child then swears off alcohol for 21 years only to find himself mayor of a village and embroiled in a confounding series of relationships for which he is ill equipped to handle. A fine TV flick adapted from a Thomas Hardy novel, "The Mayor...." fleshes out an enigmatic hard made man who struggles to reconcile a series of personal failures with his rigid code of right and wrong. A pleasant though somewhat depressing change from the usual Victorian dramas of pomp and plenty, "The Mayor..." is well worth a look for anyone into films of the period. (A)

Note - The DVD I watched had no CC's nor subtitles which made for a difficult time understanding some of the very thick brogues and burrs.

I bought the DVD of "The Mayor of Casterbridge." The film on the DVD is far superior to what A&E aired in August 2003. There are numerous important scenes that were completely eliminated and other vital portions of scenes edited out in what A&E aired. I was really frustrated with the film I saw on A&E; I liked the film on the DVD. While I would have loved this to be even longer, as is the older Alan Bates BBC version, and I still have some problems with it (the ending feels slightly rushed, for example, and some of the stagings seem too pedestrian), its generally a well acted and told story. I recommend the DVD. I definately do not recommend watching this on A&E, if they air it again in the same form as previously.

Thomas Hardy's study of human nature and all its failings are amply explored in this story of Michael Henchard who sees life from the top and from the bottom and finally ends up as a broken man despising himself completely. It is a classic look at how good and evil co-exist in some people to a remarkable degree.