jude

Cast: Christopher Ecclestton, Kate winslet, Liam Cunningham, Rachel Friffiths; DIRECTED BY: Michael winterbottom; written by: Hossein Amini; Cinematography by : Eduardo Serra; Music by: Adrian johnston. Producer: Andrew Eaton, Mark shivas, Stewart Till, BBC Films, Gramercy Pictures.

Review: Engrossing retelling of thomas hary's depressing 1896 novel "Jude the Obscure," set in his fictional Wessex. Country stonemason Jude(Eccleston) hopes to improve his impoverished lot in life by becoming a student Christminister University.

But first he's distracted into an unwise marriage with lively Arabella (Griffiths), who soon leaves him, and then into an ill-fated romance with his capricious cousin Sue Brideshead (winslet). Class nas societal barriers prove impossible for the couple to overcome and lead to a shocking tragedy. Hardy's book was so badly received by critics that he never wrote another novel and stuck to poetry for the rest of his life.