I enjoyed the production and for a TV drama think the production value and direction excellent. Fancy Day (Keeley Hawes) returns to her small town in England to become the new school mistress and to care for her elderly father. Sign up here. Three marriage proposals are made, but only one can succeed. Posted by Eamonn McCusker Published . Hawes and Murray are topnotch and so is the rest of the cast. Under the Greenwood Tree Movie Review. Dick Dewey was also a shallow, ridiculous character. Keep checking Rotten Tomatoes for updates! The story also features the replacement of the church gallery orchestra with a harmonium, a theme stressed by Thomas Hardy more than once in his writings. In the movie's climactic scene, two neighbors fight with a nail gun, a box cutter, a wrench, and a pitchfork -- the two punch, kick, then slice and stab each other until they are bleeding, then fall over dead. I was not commissioned for the actual film, this is merely my interpretation of the moving picture. Looking out the window, she smiles at the gentlemen. Quiet Revolution. Come on. FAQ Truly I had no idea who Fancy would marry, the wealthy farmer, the austere parson, or the poor (yet brash and handsome) harrier. Any adaptation does deserve to be judged on its own, there are a lot of film/TV series out there that are not very good adaptations of the source material but have many great merits to make them work on their own. That a lot of scenes were incredibly atmospheric is something to admire too. The chemistry between the two main characters is clear for all to see. Under the Greenwood Tree Plot An Illustration of Thomas Hardy‘s pastoral novel.. Under the Tree manages to be both a dark satire of petty neighborhood squabbles and a dark drama exploring how one tragedy can ripple out to create more tragedies. At times the lines around Hawes' eyes and mouth give away her age, but the main failure is that she comes across as a self-assured, mature woman rather than an uncertain girl beginning her adult life, dominated by her father and dismayed by the attentions of three suitors. On a chill Christmas Eve, a young woman rides into the English village of Mellstock. This week's films. Then, too, the script and the direction never lose power. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. The title refers to a line in William … But other, richer men also want to win the hand of Fancy. The cast was good (although didn't like the casting of Shinar so much). Beautiful film in every way, from the classic Thomas Hardy novel. But you should not expect a strong variant of, for example, BBC’s adaptation of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ from 1995, because then you will be disappointed. At the root of the two stories is an adult son (never seen) who has gone missing and is presumed dead from suicide. Besides, Fancy is a very educated young lady and will be playing the organ at the church services. Steve Pemberton is a very amusing Shiner, and Tony Haygarth and Tom Georgeson are effective father figures. They tend to end unhappily, especially when there are divided love interests. A lot of the film was shot in Hertfordshire, which is shocking, considering how much there is of the West Country crying out for more Hardy adaptations to be made where they were meant to be. No it's not deep and sad, it's cheery, and fun, and romantic. As one of Hardy's earlier works, its lighter tone is welcome even as one values the realism of such tragedies as Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Far From the Madding Crowd. Played Parson Maybold was very convincing - for all the key roles days Dick! 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