Director Michael Winterbottom, on the strength of the TV drama Family and his feature debut, Butterfly Kiss, was by the end of 1994 the hottest young director in Britain. With the support of BBC Films' Mark Shivas, Winterbottom proposed an adaptation of his favourite novel, Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, and prior to Cannes last year, PolyGram agreed to finance the film.
Jude tells the story of Jude Fawley, a stone mason in late 19th century whose love of learning takes him to Christminster to be closer to his beloved scholars. There he meets and falls fatally in love with his cousin, Sue Bridehead, whose wit and beauty captivate him. The ill-fated lovers' illicit union flouts society's conventions and tragedy ensues.
The casting proved fortuitous, with the acclaim for Kate Winslet's performance in Sense and Sensibility leading to heightened expectations about her next role. The same applied to Rachel Griffiths after the success of Muriel's Wedding.
Christopher Eccleston comes to the title role after having starred in the runaway success Shallow Grave and several high-profile and acclaimed series on British TV in the interim, while June Whitfield, the much-loved actress and comedienne, plays his Aunt Drusilla.
Winterbottom has chosen to downplay the period charm. As he says, "Jude is a very modern story and the characters behave in a way that people can relate to." Hossein Amini's script, which avoids 'period' words and rhythms, is also intended to keep the film as fresh and direct as the novel seemed on its publication in 1895.
Jude the Obscure proved so controversial a century ago that Hardy never published another novel. For Winterbottom, by way of contrast, Jude looks set to be the film that confirms his arrival in the big league.
Nick Thomas
Prod Co: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment presents, in association with BBC Films, a Revolution Films production
Prod: Andrew Eaton
Dir: Michael Winterbottom Scr: Hossein Amini
Ph: Eduardo Serra, AFC Prod
dir: Joseph Bennett
Cos: Janty Yates
Mus: Adrian Johnston
Ed: Trevor Waite
Cast: Christopher Eccleston, Kate Winslet, Liam Cunningham,
Rachel Griffiths, June Whitfield
Running time: 120mins
Int Sales: PolyGram Film
International
