Tess of the D'Urbervilles was one of the two final novels Thomas Hardy wrote.
This novel of 1891, and its successor Jude the Obscure so shocked and scandalised Victorian society that Hardy vowed never to write another novel. He realised that he was totally out-of-step with that pious, moralising, Christian era.
Tess is one of the great anti-Christian, anti-religious works of the 19th century. Tess is a girl who falls foul of the hypocritical double-standards of the time. She is found guilty of an initial crime, and there is no forgiveness - that crime haunts her for the rest of her short life.
The crime? To have been raped. And to have had a short-lived baby as the result of that rape. From then on, her destiny is shaped by her 'sin'.
Thomas Hardy was, in this novel, fighting against the endemic prejudice which judged women so unfairly. And he was commenting on the way religion could not offset, nor hope to assuage, the blind movements of fate. At the end of Tess, as she faces the final verdict for her crime, a final judgement is delivered, as a narrated voice-over. "Justice was done. Mankind, in time-honoured way, had finished its sport with Tess".
Tess is played admirably by Justine Waddell in this faithful three-hour adaptation of Hardy's novel. She is as young and striking as the role demands, but is able to reflect admirably the eventually stoic character of Tess. There has been some criticism that Jason Fleming is not violent or dark enough to play Alec, who is Tess's nemesis. But I find this a believable and multi-faceted portrayal - pure villainy would not have been nearly so convincing.
Tess finds happiness for a time in the arms of Angel Clare, the rebellious son of a clergyman. He is convincingly both loving and weak - lacking the depth of love needed to change her fate. This again is a role played with real conviction by Oliver Milburn.
Yes, this is a grim tale. But there is a lot of beauty to be found within its telling, not least in the personal redemption Tess finds at the end - a redemption found through fleeting love, not illusory religion. I've only alluded to the plot through this review, as it is Hardy's bleak but sober judgement on fate and 'mercy' which is at the core of this work, not the story itself. The makers of this British ITV television movie have stayed truthful to his vision.
Although this was made as recently as 1998, it appears to have been shot in 1.33.1 full-screen mode only, and is presented here in that ratio. Other television series of this period were being shot in widescreen, even if shown initially in full screen; this production would have benefited immensely in being opened up this way.
However, what we get is acceptable. Focus, particularly in the initial outdoor scenes, seems quite often too soft. But colours seem truthfully rendered, with good tonal details present in difficult night-scenes. This is not feature-film quality, but is what we have been taught to accept as adequate for television presentation.
