Themes: Social Climbing, Class Differences, Innocence Lost
Main Cast: Nastassja Kinski, Leigh Lawson, Peter Firth, John Collin, David Markham
Release Year: 1979
Country: UK/FR
Run Time: 170 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In Roman Polanski's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Nastassja Kinski plays Tess, a poor British peasant girl sent to live with her distant and wealthy relatives, the D'Urbervilles. Though Tess' father had hoped that the girl would be permitted a portion of the D'Urberville riches, he is in for a major disappointment: Tess' new housemates are not D'Urbervilles at all, but a social-climbing family that has bought the name. Tess won three Oscars, including a "Best Cinematography" statuette for the late Geoffrey Unsworth and his successor Ghislain Cloquet. The film also served to catapult Nastassja Kinski to stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Tess is Roman Polanski's sparse, straightforward, unsentimental adaptation of Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy's classic novel of a woman whose compromised chastity triggers her tragic downfall. Clocking in at 170 minutes, Tess takes a leisurely approach to advancing the narrative, but remains distant, preferring a remote look at the bleakness of Victorian England to the gussied-up flair featured in other costume dramas. Cinematographers Ghislain Cloquet and Geoffrey Unsworth, who won Oscars for their work, put an appropriately gray Victorian England up onscreen, its sunless atmosphere in line with the themes of the novel. The quiet, contemplative nature of the film is echoed, although not so skillfully, in the lead performance of Natassja Kinski. Seemingly cast more for her soulful eyes (and Polanski's budding relationship with her) than her acting, Kinski gives a tentative, one-note performance that is nearly inaudible. Still, it served to deliver her a variety of other projects and bring her limited stardom. Peter Firth's turn as Angel Clare, whose spurning of Tess is almost crueler than her misuse at the hands of her sham cousin (Leigh Lawson), is typical of Polanski's (and Hardy's) skepticism about the possibility of true romantic heroism. The film clearly portrays why a woman's faith in God would waver when faced with a world that refuses to distinguish the victim from the victimizer. In an interesting side note, Polanski dedicated Tess to his real-life tragic heroine, his murdered wife, Sharon Tate. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Rosemary Martin - Mrs. Durbeyfield; Carolyn Pickles - Miriam; Richard Pearson - Vicar of Marlott; Pascale de Boysson - Mrs. Clare; Dicken Ashworth - Farmer Groby; Peter Benson - Religious Fanatic; John Bett - Felix Clare; Fred Bryant - Dairyman Crick; Keith Buckley - Possman; Tom Chadbon - Cuthbert Clare; Tony Church - Parson Tringham; Sylvia Coleridge - Mrs. d'Urberville; Arielle Dombasle - Mercy Chant; Lesley Dunlop - Girl in benbouse; Jimmy Gardner - Pedler; John Gill - Landlord; Suzanna Hamilton - Izz; Jacque Mathou - Harvester; Patsy Rowlands - Landlady; Patsy Smart - Housekeeper; Jacob Weizbluth - Yokel at barn-dance; John Barrett - Old dairy band; Caroline Embling - Retty; Forbes Collins - New tenant; John Moore - Possman; Jeanne Biras - Girl in Meadow; Josine Comellas - Mrs. Crick; Graham Weston - Constable; Marilyne Even - Girl in benbouse; Anne Tirard - Old dairy band
Credit
Jack Stephens - Art Director, Jean-Pierre Rassam - Associate Producer, Mary Selway - Casting, Timothy Burrill - Co-producer, Anthony Powell - Costume Designer, Roman Polanski - Director, Hercules Bellville - Second Unit Director, Alastair McIntyre - Editor, Tom Priestley - Editor, Pierre Grunstein - Executive Producer, Philippe Sarde - Composer (Music Score), Didier Lavergne - Makeup, Pierre Guffroy - Production Designer, Ghislain Cloquet - Cinematographer, Geoffrey Unsworth - Cinematographer, Claude Berri - Producer, Gérard Brach - Screenwriter, John Brownjohn - Screenwriter, Roman Polanski - Screenwriter, Thomas Hardy - Book Author
Tess is a 1979 English language romantic drama film directed by Roman Polanski, an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 1891 novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It tells the story of a strong-willed, young peasant girl who finds out she has title connections by way of her old aristocratic surname, who is seduced by her wealthy cousin, whose right to the family title may not be as strong as he claims. The screenplay was by Gérard Brach, John Brownjohn, and Roman Polanski.
Its events are set in motion innocently enough when a clergyman, Parson Tringham, has a conversation with a simple farmer, John Durbeyfield. Tringham is a local historian; in the course of his research, he has discovered that the "Durbeyfields" are actually descended from the d'Urbervilles, a noble family whose lineage extends to the time of William the Conqueror. It is useless knowledge, really, as the family lost its land and prestige when the male heirs died out. The parson merely thinks Durbeyfield might like to know his origins as a passing historical curiosity.
Unfortunately, Durbeyfield immediately becomes fixated upon the idea of regaining his lost nobility, and using it to somehow better his family's fortunes. To this end, he sends his daughter Tess to seek employment with a family named d'Urberville living in a nearby manor house. Alec d'Urberville is delighted to meet his beautiful "cousin", and he seduces her with strawberries and roses. But Alec is no relation to Tess; he has gotten his illustrious name and coat of arms by purchasing them. Alec falls in love with Tess, eventually rapes her, and she leaves, pregnant; back at home, the baby is born sickly and dies.
Some time later, Tess goes to a dairy farm and begins work as a milkmaid. There she meets her true love: an aspiring young farmer from a respectable family, named Angel Clare. Angel believes Tess to be an unspoiled country girl, and completely innocent. They fall in love, but Tess does not guiltily confess her previous relationship with Alec until their wedding night. Disillusioned, Angel rejects her and Tess finds herself alone once again.
Deserted by her husband, Tess meets Alec d'Urberville again. At first, she angrily rebuffs his advances. But after her father's death, the Durbeyfield family falls upon desperately hard times, facing starvation, eviction and homelessness. Tess is forced to resume her torrid relationship with Alec, becoming his mistress in order to support her mother and siblings.
Shortly afterwards, Angel Clare returns from travelling abroad. A disastrous missionary tour in Brazil has ruined his health; humbled, and having had plenty of time to think, he is remorseful at his treatment of Tess. He succeeds in tracking her down—but leaves heartbroken when he finds her cohabiting with Alec. Tess realizes that going back to Alec has ruined her chances of happiness with Angel. She suffers a mental breakdown and murders Alec in a rage.
Running away to find Angel, Tess is reconciled with him; for he can finally accept and embrace her as his wife without passing moral judgment on her actions. They consummate their marriage, spending two nights of happiness together on the run from the law before Tess is captured sleeping at Stonehenge. The ending summary explains her conviction and being hanged for murder.
Production
Polański made the film because the last time he saw his wife Sharon Tate alive (before she was murdered by Charles Manson's gang), she had given him a copy of Tess of the d'Urbervilles and said it would make a great film. The dedication at the opening of the film reads simply: "to Sharon".
On 28 October 1978, cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth died of a heart attack during the third week of shooting. Most of the scenes he shot were exteriors in the first half of the film and can be distinguished by their use of fog and slight diffusion.[citation needed]Ghislain Cloquet shot the remainder of the film, including most of the interior scenes, without diffusion. Unsworth and Cloquet were both named in the successful nomination for Academy Award for Best Cinematography. Cloquet alone was nominated for and won the César Award for Cinematography.
Music
The original musical score was composed by Philippe Sarde. The melody that Angel Clare, a Victorian period Englishman, plays on the recorder is in fact a popular Polishfolk song, "Laura i Filon".
