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| YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Movies > Drama > Tess of the D'Ubervilles | |
| ProdID: 2188 - Tess of the D'UbervillesDirected byDavid Blair | Product Score: 8.5 |
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As this drama opens, the beautiful and innocent Tess Durbeyfield, dressed in white, dances in the May Day celebrations in her village. She catches a glimpse of a handsome stranger, but he ignores her. Later Tess is driven by family poverty to claim kinship with the wealthy D'Urbervilles and seek a portion of their family fortune. Here she meets a very different man - the manipulative and fraudulent Alec. Will her very innocence prove to be her downfall? One year later a changed Tess watches the May dances. Embarking on a new chapter in her life, she leaves her home, finding work as a dairy maid. Here Tess meets the stranger from the celebrations - Angel Clare. He seems to offer her love and salvation, but Tess must choose whether to reveal her past or remain silent. A thrilling story of seduction, murder, cruelty and betrayal unfolds. Whilst unstintingly gorgeous and romantic, this new adaptation is an intense, moving and provocative depiction of the tragically beautiful story. |
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When they said 'tragic' I didn't realize... they really really meant it. I went into this mini series with no idea of the story in the slightest (I just thought the girl on the front cover looked pretty). Then, as I watched, this beautiful, innocent girl had tragedy upon tragedy heaped onto her until I was fervently glad that I live in this 'modern era' of relative gender equality. In the time that Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the D'Ubervilles, it was a radical and pointed statement about the unfairness of the double moral standard between men and women's sexual behavior. Without the social context, it loses a little of its significance and one simply comes away concluding 'men are bastards'. On a more technical level, this production was beautifully cast and set with excellent attention to detail. It doesn't drag at all, which was a fear of mine going in. The dialogue is clear and easy to understand, the emotion potent. All in all, and excellent period drama, if you don't mind a heart-breaking, yet beautiful tragedy. |
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| Printed at 07:45:55pm on Tuesday 15th July 2025 |
