no , i did not read the novel by thomas hardy , " jude the obscure , " his final novel ( final because this film created such an outrage that he never wrote again -
see
: i did do some research on it ) about a man who is plagued with bad luck throughout his entire life .
but , after watching the movie , i can imagine how incredibly depressing it is .
" jude " is a satirical film from start to finish about society 's way of spitting out and chewing up those unwanted in its system , but
what 's remarkable is how timeless this film is .
the film takes place in the late 19th century ( or early 20th - was n't really sure ) , but its story could even be retold today in modern form , although it 'd be kinda different ( a given ) .
it tells the story of jude ( christopher eccleston - the psychotic accountant from " shallow grave " ) - a simple , dim - witted young man with big dreams .
in its bleak , foreboding opening , shot in grainy black and white , he gets a lesson from phillotson ( liam cunningham ) , his teacher : as they stand upon a mountain , looking upon a city in the distance , he says all you have to do is work hard and you can have anything in the world .
after marrying and divorcing an immature woman named arabella ( rachel griffiths ) because they frolicked in the hay ( literally ) but did not ultimately share anything in common , he moves away to a town with a giant university , with a chance to learn more , and get ahead in life .
taking a welding job , he works hard while studying constantly for his college bars , reciting latin over and over again , and training himself .
but when he sends his application for the school in , he is bluntly told to just remain a worker .
another reason for going to this town was because someone in his family lives there : sue ( kate winslet ) , his cousin and a very intelligent but kinda mischevious young woman who wants to be a school teacher .
she and jude click eventually and become very endearing friends , so much that when she spends the night at his flat after running from her apprentice teacher job ( for none other than phillotson at the local school ) , there are rumors that she and jude did some nasty business ( nudge nudge ) .
several twists turn in the storyline , and eventually jude and sue do do some nasty business ( an interesting scene , to say the least . . . ) , and are soon born into a controversial non - wedlock , as she eventually gives birth to their baby , and jude inherits his son from arabella , who turns up again after awhile . because they are n't married , and because they 're cousins , they run into problems with every place they go to , carrying around two children everywhere , and only staying in lodges for a very brief period of time , then moving on . if you did n't think this was harsh enough , wait till you see what happens later on . . .
the sad truth is that jude is one of the miserable people who can never get any luck in this world .
he will never gain any true happiness , and any happiness that happens to him will be fleeting , and will probably bring more horrible instances to his life .
part of it is his fault - he 's too optimistic , and too gullible .
but society has a way of taking these people , and hurting them until their death .
the ending of " jude " is bleak because it has to be ( although i hear the ending of the novel is even worse - guess i 'll have to read it now ) .
" jude " offers a satirical view on society 's cruelties , but shows no way of curing this , and thank heavens it does n't .
there 's no way to relinquish the selfishness of society , and any solution would be too small to cure such a mass problem .
satire has always been one of the few ways of changing certain people 's minds , and that 's what " jude " is .
sure , it 's one hell of a downer , but it needs to be .
the film also posesses two fantastic performances from its two leads , and some good supporting work along with it .
christopher eccleston ( slightly resembling richard edson with his new look and dumb expression ) plays jude wonderfully , sometimes bringing a big dumb smile to his face , and making him kind of child - like at other times .
kate winslet , in a pre- " titanic " performance , is brilliant ,
nailing every psyche of her character , and creating someone who 's troubled but very seductive with her personality .
kate may be the best actress in her age group ( if you do n't believe me , see " titanic , " branagh 's " hamlet , " " sense and sensibility , " and " heavenly creatures , " the latter one being my favorite performance of hers ) .
in the supporting roles , liam cunningham is a wonderfully flawed teacher , exposing all his bad parts , but ultimately being a pretty good person ; and rachel griffiths is wonderfully immature as jude 's wife , whom he never divorces .
" jude " moves at a very slow pace , and keeps taunting its viewers with chances of happiness for its protagonists , which would drive some people nuts .
but those who appreciate good social commentary with their films ,
no matter how slow or downright depressing they are ( this one is both )
will appreciate
" jude , " though i doubt anyone truly enjoys it .
posesses two fantastic performances from its two leads some good supporting work brilliant plays jude wonderfully what 's remarkable is how timeless this film is nailing every psyche of her character will appreciate