Woodlanders, The Review

The Woodlanders is said to be Thomas Hardy`s personal favourite among his novels - I`ve never read it, but it contains many of his familiar themes, and centres, as usual, on a strong female character, in this case Grace Melbury, Emily Woof. Grace`s father, Tony Haygarth, newly rich thanks to the timber industry, has sent his daughter away to a finishing school, partly to separate her from childhood sweetheart Giles Winterbourne, Rufus Sewell. When she returns home, Giles suffers, while Grace takes up with the callow Dr. FitzPiers, Cal MacAninch.This first feature from director Phil Agland suffers from brevity; you get the impression that the original novel has been so heavily pruned that it no longer holds together. Obviously important characters, like Marty, Jodhi May, the girl who pines hopelessly for Giles, and the imperious Mrs. Charmond, Polly Walker, surely should have been given more screen time to make them succeed. On the plus side, there are the expected glorious widescreen vistas, some amusing peripheral characters, and newcomer Emily Woof, who was also in The Full Monty, convincingly portrays Grace`s indecisions and regrets. I know Rufus Sewell has a loyal following, but I find him a most irritating actor; his Giles is a bit of a bore.