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 The
Mayor of Casterbridge
By Kimberly Sielen
Release Date:
MPAA Rating:
N/A
Age Recommendation: 14+
Genre: Historical Drama
Thomas Hardy's 1886 masterpiece is brought to life in A&E's wonderful adaptation
of The Mayor of Casterbridge. While containing questionable actions and
characters not suitable for young children, these minor offenses are completely
overshadowed by positive themes.
Twenty years ago Michael Henchard (Ciaran Hinds) sold his wife and daughter to a
sailor during a drunken rage. Upon realizing his horrendous act, Henchard swore
to himself that he would not consume alcohol for twenty-one years and redeem
himself in the eyes of the world. Many years later Henchard has become a
prominent grain merchant as well as the mayor of Casterbridge, a rural British
town. Suddenly his lost wife, Susan (Juliet Aubrey), and daughter, Elizabeth
Jane (Jodhi May), appear in town unexpectedly. Henchard rents a house for his
family and quickly remarries Susan in order to avoid scandal. Tragically, she
dies soon after, leaving him alone with Elizabeth Jane. Quickly Elizabeth Jane
falls in love with Henchard's employee Donald Farfrae, a respectable Scottish
man. Upon Henchard's discovery of his daughter's infatuation with his worker he
fires Farfrae in a fit of passion and forbids them from ever seeing each other.
When it seems that things cannot get any worse for this family, Lucetta
Templeman (Polly Walker), a woman with whom Henchard once had a brief
"relation," arrives in town, and Farfrae falls for her. Without knowing her true
past, Farfrae marries her and she becomes pregnant. In the meantime, Henchard's
life is falling into shambles. He has lost all of his money and has resigned his
post as mayor. In a desperate attempt to repair his broken life he hires a
messenger to deliver letters which Lucetta had written to him years ago. It is
with these events that determines the future for this ill-fated family.
In comparison to Thomas Hardy's other works, The Mayor of Casterbridge
has blatant offensive content. There are a few viewed innuendos, and certain
past actions are implied, nothing is ever shown on screen. The most prominent
issue is Henchard's past affair with Lucetta Templeman. It is never spoken of
directly; instead there is an occasional mention of their "past relations." And,
because Henchard has ruined her reputation, he vows to marry her in an attempt
to reconcile the problem. The only other sexual content is implied intercourse
between Farfrae and Lucetta following their marriage—nothing is shown, only
kissing beforehand. Violence also becomes an issue when Henchard fights with
Farfrae for marrying Lucetta and hangs him out a window before realizing he
cannot harm him. At this point the word "damn" is used, and only once. The final
matter which some may find offensive is the excessive alcohol consumption in the
beginning of the film which leads to Henchard's horrible mistake.
The minor offensive content is completely overshadowed by the positive message.
Henchard learns from his mistakes and spends the rest of his life trying to
redeem himself. It shows the sacrifices that a man would make for his family and
the challenges that people must face in their lives. With this said, The
Mayor of Casterbridge is not appropriate for children under the age of
fourteen, but may be enjoyed by an older audience.
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The Parents Television Council -
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