helge_iversen Review of The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge (2003 TV Movie)

Can't understand how this show can be rated this high

[4/10 · 27 December 2008]

OK - the acting is actually good. The atmosphere is good. In fact, this should have been a good mini-series, when it is not. The story is full of flaws, clichés, stereotypes, predictable events (such as Mr. Henchard getting drunk exactly 21 years after his oath of not drinking alcohol for 21 years), and unnatural jumps making the story incoherent at times. I haven't read anything by Thomas Hardy, so I don't know if this is his fault, or the fault of the scriptwriter or the director. The story simply strikes me as not credible. The story jumps way too fast at times, causing me to laugh in stead of believing in it. Perhaps the best example is when Donald Farfrae meets Lucetta Templeman for the first time. He is madly in love with Elisabeth Jane and has been for a long time (this has been decently made clear for us for some time already). Within five seconds he has forgotten all about Elisabeth Jane and is completely mesmerized by Lucetta Templeman - and this is portrayed in a way that is simply not believable. They hardly speak or do anything other than a two minutes chit chat, and all of a sudden they have thoughts for nothing but each other, ending the scene practically married. I laughed and shook my head. Also the characters are all dull and either not truly portrayed at all, or portrayed as stereotypes. All except for Michael Henchard, the only character that is truly interesting in this story. As for the dialog I simply can't ignore the late meeting of Michael Henchard and Abel Whittle. Henchard having been his former boss, and a bad one. I can't remember it word by word, but it goes something like this: "How is it, working for Mr. Farfrae", Henchard says. "Oh, it's good. He's not beating me the way you did," Whittle answers, not in a matter of irony. And they are both smiling and almost laughing. What's this? It'simply not believable. The story is full of that. Then again - the acting is good, the atmosphere is nice, and there are enough elements in here to make a really good story. Yet somewhere it all goes wrong. It's simply not coherent. Sorry to say so, cause I wanted to like this one.