Television
Local hero
Edward Heathcoat Amory
Even before this government encour- aged me to explore my regional identity, I knew I belonged in the West Country. Born and bred on a farm in the rolling hills of the Devon/Somerset border, I admit to being a South Western nationalist If the United Kingdom ever does fall apart, I will opt to become a citizen of the Western Celtic League. We too had our rebellions. The ill-fated attempt of the handsome Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II, to unseat James II after a land- ing at Lyme Regis, can at a pinch be com- pared with Sir William Wallace's defeat at Falkirk. We too have a distinctive racial history; the Celtic origins of my short, dark countrymen can be seen at any livestock market. There is only one omission. We need a literary history, an intellectual past, a Burns night, a Walter Scott society.
Step forward Thomas Hardy, the eternal Poet Laureate of the warm, wet West. For myself, I have always found his plots too simplistically dramatic and his enthusiasm for the beauty of his surroundings unsubtle. I would vote for Thomas Herrick, the Devonshire clergyman, whose encourage- ment to virgins to 'gather ye rosebuds while Ye may' has provided so many men with such useful ammunition in the 350 years since he wrote it. But Hardy has fame, even in a modern Britain which so disdains many of our former literary lions. And nationalism — even my gentle West Coun- try version — needs a broad popular base. I have, therefore, set aside my misgivings, and accepted Hardy as the cultural ambas- sador of my region. So I tuned in this week to Granada's new production of Far From the Madding Crowd (Monday) with particular enthusiasm. Per- haps this tale of farming and passion could do for the West what The Full Monty has done for the abandoned steel towns of the north. And after the first episode, I am still keen. Paloma Baeza, who plays Bathsheba, is as sexy as she should be, and has also just graduated from Bristol University, adding an extra West Country dimension. In par- ticular, a scene in a wood when she lies back on her horse, and is observed by Farmer Oak, is a reminder that country air and exercise are good for the libido. A pity that singing 'Heigh, ho, dobbin' to her horse rather spoils the moment.
Miss Baeza interacts well with Nathaniel Parker as Gabriel Oak, although no one can compete with Alan Bates's Seventies portrayal of silent strength behind a black beard. As Sergeant Troy, Jonathan Firth is, so far, all teeth and no tension and Farmer Boldwood is all sideburns and no sub- stance. But the landscape, the Everdene farmhouse, the sheep (now dead), and the sheepdog (also deceased) do their part excellently, and I will be watching again next week.
As a party political broadcast, however, it was less impressive. Hardy's Greek chorus of Dorset yokels is turned into a caricature of simple-minded peasants. The film-mak- ers, who presumably come from a metropolitan background, have imposed on this unfortunate group of extras in smocks a ridiculous set of prejudices about farm- workers and the, intellectually debilitating influence of rural life. They are portrayed as suffering from severe learning difficul- ties, laced with unvarying avarice, and cred- ulous superstition.
Those critics who have welcomed this production as evidence that the producers of costume dramas are turning their atten- tion to the working classes have missed the point. This drama is a paean to middle class mores, to the desire to better oneself. Which is no bad thing, except that farm- workers as a job lot are portrayed as `Oh yes, our relationship is strictly monoto- unwilling, unable and uninterested in improving their lot. Not one of these straw- chewing extras in this production would consider taking off their clothes for money if they lost their job mucking out the pigs. This is no Full Monty in Hardy country.
This may be as much the fault of the original author as its most recent inter- preters. For the majority who, unlike me, are not committed to independence for the oppressed peoples of the West, it will not detract much from their enjoyment of this impressive example of the recent improve- ment in ITV's drama output.
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