Thomas Hardy is no stranger to Michael Winterbottom, this is his third kick at the can, the other two being The Claim, an loose adaptation of The Mayor of Casterbridge and Jude, an adaptation of Jude the Obscure. Trishna is a modern retelling of Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and my only hope is that the prolific director makes something of Frieda Pinto luminous actress that has yet to move out of the ‘wet-blank’ of screen presence. By giving her the chance to be the star of this film, here is hoping. Thus far only the hint of any spark was shown in Woody Allen’s under-appreciated You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, and was barely even registering beyond her looks in Danny Boyle’s disasterpiece Slumdog Millionaire and recent Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Shot and set in India, there looks to be plenty of song and dance here, but it’s probably not going to be that sort of film.

Based on Thomas Hardy’s classic novel story of one woman whose life is destroyed by a combination of love and circumstances. Set in contemporary Rajasthan, Trishna meets a wealthy young British businessman Jay Singh who has come to India to work in his father’s hotel business. After an accident destroys her father’s Jeep, Trishna goes to work for Jay, and they fall in love. But despite their feelings for each other, they cannot escape the conflicting pressures of a rural society which is changing rapidly through industrialisation, urbanisation and, above all, education. Trishna’s tragedy is that she is torn between the traditions of her family life and the dreams and ambitions that her education has given her.

In light of my recent lengthy discussion of Winterbottom (and his method of literary adaptation) over at The Director’s Club Podcast, I am anxious to take this one in when it plays at this years edition of TIFF.

The trailer is tucked under the seat.