Jude

R

Released Oct 18, 1996

2 hr. 3 min.

Drama

List

81%

42 Reviews

Tomatometer

73%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In late 19th-century England, Jude (Christopher Eccleston) aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is trapped in an unloving marriage to a farmer's daughter named Arabella (Rachel Griffiths). But when his wife leaves him, Jude sees an opportunity to improve himself. He moves to the city and begins an affair with his married cousin, Sue (Kate Winslet), courting tragedy every step of the way.

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Critics Consensus

Superb acting from a beautifully matched Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet make Jude well worth watching even as it struggles with its source material.

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Charles T

Well over one hundred years ago, Thomas Hardy experienced critical backlash against his novel "Jude the Obscure" and never wrote another novel. This film version is also controversial, but definitely worth a look. This stars Christopher Eccleston in the title role as a stonemason who yearns for higher learning and a better life. Eccleston's portrayal of Jude is excellent in that he is no Hollywood pretty boy. His ears are too big and his face sallow, but his expressions and gaunt look help his performance immensely, especially in the latter half of the film. Too bad the audience is left in the dark about what exactly makes his character tick. Jude's cousin, Sue, is played by Kate Winslet. She brings a professionalism to her role that almost overshadows Eccleston. Every nuance of her work here does not seem calculated, but very natural. Jude's wife, Arabella, who leaves him, but keeps popping back into his life over and over again, is played by Rachel Griffiths. Her character is a major flaw in the film. Gothicism was fading in the time this novel was written; readers were experiencing more realistic situations in novels by the likes of Charles Dickens, or fantastic situations in novels by H.G. Wells. Arabella seems old hat in a period film. When she is introduced, the scene is full of sunshine and Utopian bliss. Throughout the film, she appears in black widow's wear, striking a contrast against gray backgrounds and the forced happiness of Jude and Sue. This role screamed for a more intense actress along the lines of Nicole Kidman or Emily Watson. Griffiths does not have the presence needed. Any other actress would have taken the part and sunk her teeth into it, but Griffiths comes across as a pitiful old maid without a thought in her head. In the beginning of the film, in her cutesy courtship with Jude, another actress may have appeared whimsical and innocent, Griffiths plays Arabella like a moron. The director is well known in British and art house circles. His direction is expert, and different from other adaptations of long English novels. Winterbottom uses filmed captions to let the viewer know where Jude's travels take him. The film opens during Jude's childhood, and Winterbottom shoots the entire sequence in black and white, evoking antiquated romantic memories. The screenwriter, Hossein Amini, and Winterbottom load the film with too much sex, after a while it almost overshadows the plot and characters. The musical score and set design are marvelous and I would highly recommend this film to others, but maybe not as a study aid for Thomas Hardy-reading high school students. "Jude" has plenty of raw emotion, including the stinging fate of Sue and Jude's children, but Jude's character remains, pardon the pun, obscure. There is something great here, despite the flaws.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/23

Full Review

isla s

A bleak and sobering watch, this film has good central performances from Christopher Eccleston and Kate Winslet. Its an average watch overall I'd say - a bit of a slow burn, plot wise, at the start - its an alright watch, though its not a film I'd actively recommend, unless your particularly keen on the main stars already mentioned. Also, I should perhaps point out that this film features a rather explicit (understandably very bloody) scene when Kate's character, Sue, gives bith. There is definitely a taboo element to the story but I wouldn't say its an out and out thrilling watch. It's an ok film though.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The greatest 02 hours: and 03 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

colin m

Drama based on Thomas Hardy's novel "Jude the Obscure". How relationships get screwed up, with consequences.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Unusual even repelling moments accurate to the time period they were depicted. Remarkable story of determining one's destiny in a time of dominating social and religious pressure. It also is a very convincing exploration of implications of true love. Overall, it leaves a sense of gratitude for where we now exist in history.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I loved this movie, based on the book by Thomas Hardy. I highly recommend!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Michael Winterbottom

Director

Kate Winslet

Sue Bridehead

Christopher Eccleston

Jude Fawley

Rachel Griffiths

Arabella

June Whitfield

Aunt Drusilla

Liam Cunningham

Phillotson

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

It's worth seeing Jude, a stark adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, just for the extraordinary performance of Christopher Eccleston as Jude Fawley.

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Derek Elley

Variety

Young English actress Kate Winslet adds luster and energy to Jude, a bold and generally successful attempt to adapt Thomas Hardy's final novel, Jude the Obscure, to the bigscreen.

Jun 10, 2008

Full Review

Desson Thomson

Washington Post

Without the benefit of Hardy's prose, the point of the movie is lost in the grim, grayish ether.

Aug 19, 2006

Full Review

Michael Atkinson

Spin

Far from another cuted-up, waistcoat- &-bustle Emma Thompson weekend getaway, Jude is stark, gnarly, and breathtaking.

Dec 27, 2022

Full Review

Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

What Jude misses by being so darned pretty is any sense of the magnitude of the harshness of Victorian society towards anyone, particularly women, whose life didn’t conform to the expected pieties.

Rated: 5/10

Dec 8, 2022

Full Review

Peter Canavese

Celluloid Dreams

Beautifully shot adaptation of the Thomas Hardy novel 'Jude The Obscure' -- a bit workmanlike, but solid, well-acted and artfully rendered. (Scorpion Releasing blu-ray).

Rated: 3/4

Jul 21, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

In late 19th-century England, Jude (Christopher Eccleston) aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is trapped in an unloving marriage to a farmer's daughter named Arabella (Rachel Griffiths). But when his wife leaves him, Jude sees an opportunity to improve himself. He moves to the city and begins an affair with his married cousin, Sue (Kate Winslet), courting tragedy every step of the way.

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Executive Producer: Stewart Till, Mark Shivas
Screenwriter: Hossein Amini, Thomas Hardy
Distributor: Polygram, Gramercy Pictures
Production Co: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 18, 1996, Original
Box Office (Gross USA): $419.3K
Sound Mix: Surround