Jude

A film adapted from a novel by Thomas Hardy. Jude lives in the country and works as a stonemason. He wants to go to university; he teaches himself Latin and Greek, collects books and plans to reach a city called Christminster. But the wall of class does not open: his application goes unanswered and he is advised to stick to his trade. He marries early and it does not work. Then he meets his cousin Sue. She is intelligent, headstrong and does not accept the rules of the period. They begin living together and do not marry. The subject is the price of that choice. The people around them shut them out; they cannot find work, cannot find lodgings, and keep moving. The narrative keeps the novel's bleakness and softens nothing. Christopher Eccleston plays Jude and Kate Winslet plays Sue. Michael Winterbottom directed. Visually the production is plain and cold; stone, mud and grey sky dominate. A hard example for anyone who likes classical literary adaptation and social criticism. Before you watch, know this: the film moves towards a very heavy event and that passage is difficult to bear.