Review of Mayor Of Casterbridge, The

Introduction

I`m going to try something. I`m going to buy a Ferrari with money I don`t have, get it delivered and keep it, unsullied in a garage (Where I will rub it gently with a diaper). And when the Bank Manager takes me to task over my wanton spending, I shall confidently state, that since I haven`t yet driven said supercar, I haven`t really spent the money. I`m being foolish and naïve you may think, but this is exactly what ITV did, and it worked for them. In 2001, they spent £4 million on a lavish production of the Mayor of Casterbridge, but it turned out to be a lean year for them, and they couldn`t account for an extravagant spend like that. That`s where the wonders of corporate accounting come in, as in the world of television, until a programme is aired, any moneys earmarked for the production aren`t considered spent. We had to wait until December 2003 for ITV to actually spend their £4 million, and less than a month later, the DVD is available for you home viewing pleasure. I`m afraid it doesn`t quite live up to the hype.

This is the adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel, chronicling the life of Michael Henchard, the titular Mayor. A man with a passion for drinking in his misspent youth, when his wife Susan objected once too often, he went as far as selling her and his infant daughter Elizabeth Jane to an itinerant sailor. Immediately regretting his actions, he swore an oath to stay away from hard liquor for the next 21 years, and attempt to rebuild his life.

19 years later, Henchard is a man of substance in the town of Casterbridge, the town`s mayor and a prosperous businessman in the corn trade. He hires Donald Farfrae as his manager when the Scot assists his business, and the two begin a strong friendship that allows him to confess his youthful mistakes. When his estranged wife and daughter return, he promises to make amends, but when he sees Donald Farfrae becoming not only popular and prosperous, but falling in love with his daughter, he begins to be plagued by doubts. When Lucetta Templeman, a woman with whom Henchard had a scandalous affair arrives in Casterbridge, his own doubts and insecurities combine to tear his world apart.

Video

I get the feeling that this particular release has been rushed out. For one thing, both halves of the tale have been crammed onto a single disc. 194 minutes of television on one disc is certainly possible, but I feel that sacrifices have been made for the sake of expediency. Simple things like the first episode stopping before the end credits, or the fact that there is a layer change at the beginning of episode two, when both episodes should have been on separate layers, indicate a rushed release.

The image quality itself is less than ideal, and I wonder if resting for two years in the archives may have degraded the source material, the same way old film stock decays prompting expensive restoration. It is a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, but the picture is consistently grainy and soft, with compression artefacts apparent over fine detail. Darker scenes are indistinct and prone to ghosting. I feel that this most certainly should have been a two-disc release.

The programme itself is as you would expect a costume drama to be, although it`s hardly as lavish as the price tag suggests. There is certainly much attention to detail, and the locations and costumes if rarely colourful certainly warrant the appellation, period drama. I did take exception to some rather wobbly camerawork and some curious editing, but this was more apparent in the first episode.

Audio

The sound is presented in the original DD 2.0 Stereo soundtrack, and the dialogue is clear throughout. The music is used sparingly in this drama, but in just the right amounts. The absence of subtitles is once again indicative of a rushed release.

Features

Surprisingly there is room left over for extras on the disc, but they are hardly profuse. There is a short trailer as well as a slideshow gallery containing some 25 stills. Everything else is in the form of text pages, including cast, character and author biographies, as well as production notes.

Conclusion

The Mayor Of Casterbridge happens to be my father`s favourite novel. Consequently I have never read it and that probably says something about fathers and sons that is a universal constant. I also missed out on the TV broadcast for much the same reason, but curiosity got the better of me and I jumped at the chance to review the disc. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is a complex and captivating story of one man`s downfall. However the final product doesn`t live up to the hyperbole and fanfare surrounding it. Like most other literary conversions, The Mayor Of Casterbridge came across as rather bitty and disjointed. Trimming any classic novel to fit 3 and a bit hours would be a difficult proposition, but I got the feeling that much more was left out of this adaptation than would be normal. Some scenes would be detailed and involved, but on occasions there would be short scenes included only to allow a character to speak one line and then the scene would change again. To say it seems abridged would be an understatement.

Despite this, the story is never less than compelling, and certainly grips from beginning to end. This is in no small part by a masterful performance by Ciarán Hinds as Michael Henchard. This is a reprehensible monster of a man who in the depths of drunkenness goes as far as selling his own family. Yet Hinds creates a flawed sympathetic character that the audience can empathise with, a man who is burdened by his own doubts and insecurities, a man who can only see the worst in those around him. Despite this he tries to do the right and moral thing, if for the wrong reasons. It`s a brilliant character study as his own fears and pride lead this man inexorably to his downfall, yet Hinds moving performance left me hoping each time that he would make the right decision and set his life to rights.

But while Ciarán Hinds is outstanding, the same cannot be said for his co-star, James Purefoy who plays Donald Farfrae. I remember the initial reviews after the programme`s broadcast pounced on his rather awkward Scottish accent, but that is the least of his problems. He plays the character with far too much subtext. Every look is loaded with meaning, every gesture over calculated and as well as being distracting, it creates more than a few red herrings about the character. Not having read the novel, I became certain from his portrayal that Farfrae had more to do with Henchard`s problems than he had in actuality, yet at other times he would appear completely gormless. It was an inconsistent performance that was far too distracting.

The rest of the cast is good, and the additional focus on women`s role in society and early ideas of emancipation rounds the story off well, but on the whole The Mayor Of Casterbridge is something of a flawed masterpiece. It is certainly worth watching if only for Ciarán Hinds, but if anything this TV drama has only made me eager to read the novel for myself.

The disc itself smacks of a quick cash-in. The image quality is barely acceptable and the disc looks hastily put together with minor errors and simple flaws. The lack of subtitles is unfortunate and the two episodes should have been on separate discs.