Beloved Literary Classic Comes to Life in “Far From the Madding Crowd”

The literary classic adapted to film, “Far From the Madding Crowd” starring Carrey Mulligan launched with a very impressive numbers at the US box-office following warm and rave reception from critics and audience alike when it opened on a limited release.  

                Based on the novel of the same title by Thomas Hardy, “Far From the Madding Crowd” is the story of Bathsheeba Everdene, an independent, beautiful and headstrong woman who attracts three very different but very  determined suitors:  Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts), a sheep farmer, captivated by her willfulness; Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), a handsome and reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood (Michael Sheen), a prosperous and mature bachelor. 

                Fox Searchlight presents a DNA Production, “Far From the Madding Crowd,” a timeless and charming tale about a woman’s choices and passions, while trying to maintain her own independence, explores the nature of relationships and love – as well as the human ability to overcome hardship through resilience and perseverance.

                When it came to acting out the rural life of her latest character — Far From the Madding Crowd’s feisty heroine Bathsheba Everdene — Carey Mulligan knew what she was doing. The 29-year-old English actress spent portions of her youth on her grandmother’s farm in Wales and became a dab hand at looking after livestock. She can even milk a cow.

                “Milking a cow? I can do that,” beams Mulligan. “There is a sort of knack to it. I had done it as a kid. My grandmother lived in Wales and we had relatives who were farmers. I live in the country now and am around farmers a lot.”

                Indeed, the week prior to starting work on her latest film she was helping a local friend shear a sheep! “I wasn’t actually shearing, because it is really difficult,” she says, “but I was bagging up the wool. I know a lot of people who farm. It is not unfamiliar territory to me.” 

                At the time, women of sound social standing were expected to find husbands and raise a family, leaving business matters to the menfolk.  Not so Bathsheba. She has no immediate interest in securing a husband. She just wants to run her farm.   “She is a modern woman,” Mulligan says of her character, “and I think it is an extraordinary feat by Hardy to write somebody like that, and to enjoy her ‘otherness’. You can see in the writing that he is taking a real joy in writing this different, obtuse, rebellious woman. She isn’t like the people who surround her. She is different.”

                “Far From the Madding Crowd” opens very soon this July 8 from 20^th Century Fox.