Far from the Madding Crowd

Director: Thomas Vinterberg

Cast: Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen

The silver screen has seen more than its fair share of costume dramas over the years and as I have no doubt mentioned before, it’s easy to understand why. As much as you can be guaranteed an audience for a Pirates of the Caribbean (inexplicably) you can be sure that there will always be an audience for a costume drama.

They are timeless films with love stories at their heart, but they are also based on some of the finest works of fiction coupled with some of the greatest female leads. Films like Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice and Wuthering Heights, no matter how many reproductions exist of the work, always manage to do exceptionally well at the box office.

Based on the Thomas Hardy novel of the same name, Far from the Madding Crowd tells the story of Bathsheba Everdene, a young woman orphaned at an early age but finds herself in ownership of a huge estate following the death of her uncle. However, she does find herself holding the attention of three fairly eligible bachelors; Gabriel, who always stays by her side, the elusive William Boldwood and the romantic Sergeant Francis Troy. Trusting her heart instead of her intelligence, she marries the Sergeant but soon finds that she has made quite a big mistake.

The main problem with Far from the Madding Crowd is that Carey Mulligan’s character is obviously blind to how attractive Matthias Schoenaerts actually is; if you can get past that for most of the film you might just make it through. The performances are amazing, particularly Michael Sheen as the love sick lord living next door whose whole life becomes defined by a woman he barely knew or demonstrated any interest in. However, the real defining performance here is Carey Mulligan as the strong female who runs the estate, and for whom Gabriel works.

It also looks beautiful and even though the costumes and settings seem like hundreds of years away, this is a universal story that most can relate to. However, be warned: it’s difficult to sit through this Ross and Rachel type love story (yes, too modern a reference here) at times. Is she blind? Really, is she?

Get Up and Go

Director: Brendan Grant

Cast: Peter Coonan, Killian Scott, Gemma- Leah Deveraux

Let’s face it, over the years we’ve seen more than our fair share of depressing Irish films. In fact, we’re pretty good at them. From depictions of the Troubles to our ongoing struggles coming to terms with the impact of the church and, of course, our much documented history with alcoholism, the Irish film has provided us with some grim viewing over the years.

However, when we do attempt to make films about just going out and having a good time, they often end up being so wooden and occasionally bland, we crave those good and gritty performances again. Not so with Get Up and Go.

The film revolves around two best buddies, Alex and Coilín, over the space of about two days in their lives. During the time spent with the pair, we discover that Coilín is hopelessly in love with a friend called Lola who just happens to be the sister of Alex’s long-term girlfriend, Sinead. At the beginning, we learn that Sinead is pregnant and Alex, perhaps in a moment of sheer panic, decides he has to leave these shores and build a life elsewhere that won’t involve a child. Coilín is just concerned with telling Lola that he loves her. Somehow, the pair split up and Alex finds himself on a night out with Lola while Coilín hangs out with a workmate of Alex. As you can imagine, things don’t exactly end up the way they wanted.

Get Up and Go is not without its faults; to start with, it can really take a while to get going and it’s tough for the audience to settle into the pace of the film. However, it is really refreshing to watch a film about Irish life and Irish characters that isn’t all doom and gloom. In fact, the relationship between the two main characters is actually kind of sweet.

Irish films often tend to brag about making Dublin look like a European city and not so much that it will alienate the people who live here. However, there is a certain kind of hipster who tends to hang out in a certain café in the city, and that is the Dublin doubling down here. 

It’s not exactly something to write home about but it is worth it for the performances. Watch out for a special cameo from Republic of Loose too.