(MA) Directed by Michael Winterbottom.
Winterbottom takes Thomas Hardy’s classic Tess of the d’Urbervilles from the cold climes of nineteenth century England to the heat of modern day India. In Rajasthan, Trishna (Slumdog Millionaire’s Freida Pinto) has to go out to work when her father’s accident prevents him from earning an income because she is the eldest child. When she meets Jay (Riz Ahmed), who has recently returned to India to work in his father’s hotel business, he convinces her to work in the hotel he is managing. Despite the pressures of a traditional class-divided society, Trishna falls in love and has to bear the burden when things do not turn out like her dreams. Be warned that you cannot expect a happy ending from anything based on Hardy or a director who started his career with Butterfly Kiss, but this beautifully-shot film allows you to step in another’s footsteps for a short while.
Lezly Herbert
