Tess (Roman Polanski, 1979) – 8.5/10
I’ve wanted to see this since it came out, in part because my gf back then looked a bit like Nastassja Kinski and had the somber demeanor of the title character. Well, lo and behold, I relinked with her a couple years ago after a 37-year break and we watched it tonight. We both loved it.
Based on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, the film tells the story of a destitute young woman, a descendant of a once-prominent landed family, trying to get by in rural England in the 1870s. Wonderful sets, costumes, and cinematography make Hardy’s famed tragedy come across well, complete with warm looks at local folkways and rites. (As with Schlesinger’s Far From The Madding Crowd.) We don’t see a lot of character development in Tess but that’s Hardy’s book, not Polanski’s or Kinski’s limitations. Kinski is excellent at portraying brooding, aggrieved endurance but she’s not called upon to do anything else.
I want to write a book about a waif-like young woman who falls in with a group of people who support the president, which leads to a tragic end. The title is Tess of the Deplorabilles.
© 2019 Brian M Downing
Brian M Downing is a national security analyst who’s written for outlets across the political spectrum. He studied at Georgetown University and the University of Chicago, and did post-graduate work at Harvard’s Center for International Affairs.