Jude

REVIEW
This somber and austere adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure" provides a harrowing vision of an England on the verge of industrial revolution and mired in an unjust class system. Clearly somewhat autobiographical, the story follows Jude (superbly played by Eccleston), an eternally optimistic and socially daring young stonemason who breaks class taboo by pursuing a university education. He further pushes the bounds of societal tolerance when he takes up with his atheist schoolteacher cousin (Winslet), despite his being married. The film's first third is a jumble of vignettes as it appears the filmmakers tried to hurry through a mountain of plot points, and character development suffers as a result. The film's last half provides a much more intricate peek at its protagonists and the social mores of the day. This tragic romantic drama is both a thought-provoking history lesson and gloomy period piece.