Jude (film)
Encyclopedia
Jude is a 1996
English
film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy
and directed by Michael Winterbottom
. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini
. The original music score is composed by Adrian Johnston.
The majority of the film was shot in late 1995 in Edinburgh
and locations in Country Durham including Durham Cathedral, Durham City, Ushaw College, Blanchland village and Beamish museum.
, Jude Fawley (Eccleston) is a young man who dreams of a scholarly university education. Circumstances conspire against him, however, forcing him into a job as a stonemason and an unhappy marriage to a country girl, Arabella (Griffiths). He remains true to his dream, however, and months later, after his wife's sudden departure, heads for the city, where he thinks education lies for any man who is willing to work hard. There he encounters his beautiful cousin, Sue Bridehead (Winslet), who shares his intelligence and disdain for convention. Whilst Jude is clearly enraptured by Sue, she instead decides to marry Jude's old school teacher, Phillotson (Cunningham), after Jude tells her he is married to Arabella. Meanwhile, Jude is forced to push aside his university career dreams after a series of rejections based primarily on his lower-class status.
The marriage of Sue and Phillotson is not a success, with Sue refusing to give herself sexually or romantically to her husband. She leaves her husband to join Jude in what turns out to be a rough life, moving from place to place as Jude picks up occasional work as a stonemason. The two however are in love and over the course of years, Sue gives birth to several children, whilst the agnostic and independent Sue refuses to officialize their arrangement via marriage. Eventually a boy named Jude ("Juey") is revealed to have been born by Arabella shortly after she left Jude. The boy, who seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, comes to live with Jude, Sue and his half-siblings.
When Sue and Jude are once again forbidden a permanent rental lodging owing to their scandalous unmarried state, Sue explains to Juey that the family cannot stay long at their present lodging because there are too many of them. The next day Sue and Jude return to their lodging to find that Juey has suffocated and killed his half-siblings before committing suicide via hanging. He leaves behind a suicide note explaining his motivation: "Because we were too menny."
Jude and Sue in particular fall into a deep depression after the deaths of their children. Sue believes their deaths to be the result of God's judgment and punishment for their unholy, unmarried state. She decides to return to Phillotson, whom she finds sexually repugnant, as he is her true husband in the eyes of God.
A year after the death of their children, a sickly Jude and morose-looking Sue meet when they separately visit the tombstones of their deceased children. Jude demands that a guarded Sue tell him whether she still loves him, to which she replies, "You've always known". After a passionate kiss she tearfully walks away from Jude to return to Phillotson. Jude shouts to Sue, "We are man and wife, if ever two people were on this earth!" as she walks away.
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
film, based on the novel Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure
Jude the Obscure, the last of Thomas Hardy's novels, began as a magazine serial and was first published in book form in 1895. The book was burned publicly by William Walsham How, Bishop of Wakefield, in that same year. Its hero, Jude Fawley, is a working-class young man who dreams of becoming a...
by Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
and directed by Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
. The screenplay is written by Hossein Amini
Hossein Amini
Hossein Amini is an Iranian screenwriter who has been working since the 1990s. He was nominated numerous awards for the 1997 film The Wings of the Dove, including an Academy Award for Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay....
. The original music score is composed by Adrian Johnston.
The majority of the film was shot in late 1995 in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and locations in Country Durham including Durham Cathedral, Durham City, Ushaw College, Blanchland village and Beamish museum.
Plot summary
In the Victorian periodVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
, Jude Fawley (Eccleston) is a young man who dreams of a scholarly university education. Circumstances conspire against him, however, forcing him into a job as a stonemason and an unhappy marriage to a country girl, Arabella (Griffiths). He remains true to his dream, however, and months later, after his wife's sudden departure, heads for the city, where he thinks education lies for any man who is willing to work hard. There he encounters his beautiful cousin, Sue Bridehead (Winslet), who shares his intelligence and disdain for convention. Whilst Jude is clearly enraptured by Sue, she instead decides to marry Jude's old school teacher, Phillotson (Cunningham), after Jude tells her he is married to Arabella. Meanwhile, Jude is forced to push aside his university career dreams after a series of rejections based primarily on his lower-class status.
The marriage of Sue and Phillotson is not a success, with Sue refusing to give herself sexually or romantically to her husband. She leaves her husband to join Jude in what turns out to be a rough life, moving from place to place as Jude picks up occasional work as a stonemason. The two however are in love and over the course of years, Sue gives birth to several children, whilst the agnostic and independent Sue refuses to officialize their arrangement via marriage. Eventually a boy named Jude ("Juey") is revealed to have been born by Arabella shortly after she left Jude. The boy, who seems to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, comes to live with Jude, Sue and his half-siblings.
When Sue and Jude are once again forbidden a permanent rental lodging owing to their scandalous unmarried state, Sue explains to Juey that the family cannot stay long at their present lodging because there are too many of them. The next day Sue and Jude return to their lodging to find that Juey has suffocated and killed his half-siblings before committing suicide via hanging. He leaves behind a suicide note explaining his motivation: "Because we were too menny."
Jude and Sue in particular fall into a deep depression after the deaths of their children. Sue believes their deaths to be the result of God's judgment and punishment for their unholy, unmarried state. She decides to return to Phillotson, whom she finds sexually repugnant, as he is her true husband in the eyes of God.
A year after the death of their children, a sickly Jude and morose-looking Sue meet when they separately visit the tombstones of their deceased children. Jude demands that a guarded Sue tell him whether she still loves him, to which she replies, "You've always known". After a passionate kiss she tearfully walks away from Jude to return to Phillotson. Jude shouts to Sue, "We are man and wife, if ever two people were on this earth!" as she walks away.
Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra... |
Jude Fawley |
| Kate Winslet Kate Winslet Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader... |
Sue Bridehead |
| Liam Cunningham | Phillotson |
| Rachel Griffiths Rachel Griffiths Rachel Anne Griffiths is an Australian film and television actress who came to prominence in the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding and her Academy Award nominated performance in the 1997 film Hilary and Jackie.... |
Arabella |
| June Whitfield June Whitfield June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series.... |
Aunt Drusilla |
| Berwick Kaler Berwick Kaler Berwick Kaler is a British actor most famous for playing the dame in York Theatre Royal's annual pantomime, which he also writes and directs. He has been awarded the freedom of the city, and in 2002 received an honorary degree from the University of York. Having grown up in "the slums of... |
Farmer Troutham |
| David Tennant David Tennant David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr... |
Drunk Undergraduate |