The first thing I should say about this film is that it’s loosely based on the famous Thomas Hardy novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. And boy, do I mean loosely – much like Bride and Prejudice…
Trishna 2011
Staring Friend Pinto and Riz Ahmend
Directed by Michael Winterbottom
The first thing I should say about this film is that it’s loosely based on the famous Thomas Hardy novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. And boy, do I mean loosely.
Set in modern day India as opposed to 19th century England, our heroine is a poor but beautiful girl named Trishna (Frieda Pinto, from Slumdog Millionaire.) Coming from a small traditional village – where an accident means she is the sole breadwinner for her large family – she accepts a job offer from a handsome Englishman with an Indian mother, Jay (Riz Ahmend). The two begin an affair but are caught between the pull of Trishna’s traditional upbringing and the new modern world of Mumbai.
The acting is really good. The script-writing on the other hand is rather sketchy. I did find myself engaged throughout the film and I was thinking about it afterwards which are both positive signs. However, if you have read the book, then you’ll know they have chopped and changed quite a lot; some of which doesn’t quite add up. Further, some major events which happen don’t quite fit with normal human behaviour and I think there should have been more character development, though I guess it is always hard when developing a novel into a film.
Overall I would recommend seeing it…but maybe on DVD.
Robecca Leyden
30 April 2012
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