Some might call it crass to compare a literary great to a game of snog, marry, avoid. We're certainly not those people. And hey, the classic Thomas Hardy novel *Far From The Madding Crowd *– which has been made in to a new film that comes out this weekend - is basically that; three men, one gal - who will she choose for what?
Incase you skipped the GCSE class the plot revolves around general badass Bathsheba Everdene (film trivia: her name informed Katniss in Hunger Games' name), who is played to perfection by Carey Mulligan. Bathsheba inherits a farm from her uncle and goes about running it on her own - a bolshie move for any woman at that time…
Anyhow, the main bit of the book/film, revolves around the fact that she then has the choice between three men who are all after her. It's hard being popular. And it's up to her who she snogs, marries, and avoids. Suffice to say, we were pretty jealous, so we had a go choosing from the three ourselves. Here we go... *
Snog: Sergeant Francis Troy aka Tom Sturridge. He plays he a stud in a scarlet jacket with good sword moves and is definitely worthy of a snog. Bathsheba agrees. Even though spoiler alert he is very bad news in the film. But hey, we’ve always liked a bad boy. Apart from anything else we generally apply the life rule of ‘if it’s good enough for Sienna’ and she’s married to Tom IRL.
Marry: Gabriel Oak played by Matthias ‘fit shoulders’ Schoenaerts (from Bullhead and Rust And Bone). Frankly there was no contest. Oak is the strong silent reliable type who even gifts Bathsheba a baby lamb to woo her. We mentioned earlier in the week that Shepherds are totally a thing and this proves it. We’d 200% live happily ever as Mrs Oak.
Avoid: William Boldwood is the rich old farmer next door. Michael Sheen is brilliant in the role and frankly is you’re a girl that likes money and shiny things then you might choose differently as this guy has plenty of both. But for us he’s just a bit oap for our liking.
*Please note - these are our own personal decisions - not representative of Hardy’s actual plot.
You’ll like the film if… You enjoy a period dramas like Downton and kickass plots like Hunger Games.
We didn’t expect... The outfits to be so awesome. Expect awesome denim dresses, vintage Polo necks, oh and a lot of gingham we want for our SS15 wardrobe.
IMBD trivia… The script was adapted by David Nicholls of One Day fame.
Noteworthy cameo... To the sheep. As we told you recently shepherding is huge right now.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.