The Return of the Native (1994 TV Movie) User Reviews

Not interested

[surfsister · 5/10 · 26 May 2004]

I chose this video because of it's historical flavor and the choice of actors. Unfortunately, neither of the two were very interesting. Not having read the book I was totally lost for the first 20 minutes or so. The story just moved so slowly and didn't keep my attention. Catherine Zeta-Jones gave a very poor performance and I was very disappointed. Joan Plowright came through, as usual, but still a little subdued. The whole thing was very subdued and sluggish. If you are looking for a movie with no nudity or language this will do. Also, if you are studying this book in school I am sure you would find this video helpful. Otherwise, I do not recommend this video.

Thomas Hardy classic

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 6 January 2018]

In 1994, Catherine Zeta-Jones sealed her fate to forever play the bad girl. She starred in two television adaptations of very famous novels, Catherine Cookson's The Cinder Path and Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. In the latter, she plays the bewitching village outcast whose power over men is so great the townspeople think she's a witch. She enjoys toying with their emotions, but soon learns the consequences of her actions.

With a large supporting cast of Clive Owen, Steven Mackintosh, Joan Plowright, Celia Imrie, Ray Stevenson, and Claire Skinner, The Return of the Native is a must-see for fans of historical romances. Keep in mind that it comes from a Thomas Hardy novel, so it'll be a little depressing. There's also some strange elements included in the story, like the alleged witchery and the constant red pigment to Steven Mackintosh's skin-which is explained better in the book.

It's difficult to hate Catherine because she's so beautiful, and at times during the sad story, you'll even feel sorry for her. She, Ray, Steven, and Joan give great performances, tugging at your heart and making you want more when the movie's over. While this one isn't my favorite sweeping historical drama-Thomas Hardy stories are just too sad for me-it's a very famous one to add to your list if you like that genre.

Love with tragic consequences...

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 15 November 2013]

Not one of the Thomas Hardy masterpieces(Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the D'Urbevilles and The Mayor of Casterbridge), but any work of his is well worth the read and The Return of the Native is no exception. There are better Hardy adaptations, but that is not to knock Return of the Native(1994) completely as it is still quite good. Albeit not without problems. Ray Stevenson is rather colourless and one-note as Clym Yeobright(that his "martyr complex" isn't really all that evident here makes the character himself flat admittedly). The events that happen during the final twenty minutes seemed too glossed over and broadly played, the whole Eustacia's ghost part was hilarious for the wrong reasons. And while the emotional impact and spirit mostly are there for about 2/3 of the film some of it did feel like a lot of skimming the surface and not quite enough depth/meat(the same problem I had with the 1997 film version of The Woodlanders). On the other hand, there is no fault to be had with how the film looks, it is a very beautifully shot adaptation with even lovelier countryside scenery. The costumes are vivid and the contrasts between rich and poor are easy to see and convincing. The music is very lush and romantic-sounding, that it is characterised mainly by strings(of all four orchestral sections, the strings section is most likely the best at depicting love and its consequences) adds to that effect. The script is mostly literate and does have evidence of the ironic and the tragic(though both elements are presented stronger in the book), it's only really with Stevenson where it feels weak. The story and characters have much much to them in the book where there is a lot more detail and time, but they are still involving while the story is touching, doing a great job at maintaining the book's pacing and for conveying how the characters interacted, behaved and lived accurately. Apart from Stevenson, the acting is fine. There may be reservations of whether Catherine Zeta-Jones is too innocent-looking for Eustacia, that still doesn't stop her from giving a nuanced portrayal of a complex character, she also has only looked more beautiful in Darling Buds of May. Clive Owen plays Wildeve with handsome broodiness and fire while Steven Mackintosh is quietly dignified. Joan Plowright and Claire Skinner are very good too and are true to their characters. All in all, not perfect and left wanting as an adaptation but on its own especially in the production values and the cast it's still a good film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

A Superb Rendition of a Classic Hardy

[ctkoppel-2 · 14 December 2000]

When I was in high school, one book that was required reading in English literature was Thomas Hardy's The Return of the Native. I found the book enthralling and the main character of Eustacia Vye bewitching and unforgettable, a person who simply could not find happiness in life no matter how hard she connived to achieve it. I always wondered why a film had not been made of the book, then Hallmark Hall of Fame finally gave it the first-class treatment, with excellent production values, sumptuous costumes and photography, an intelligent script, fine musical score, and brilliant actors. Catherine Zeta Jones (at the time not the big star she is today) is a magnificent Eustacia, willfull, emotional, sad, depressed, flirtatious, deluded, manipulative, and tragic. She was the exact Eustacia I pictured in the novel. Hardy's theme of nature's indifference to humanity's suffering is indeed bleak, but can provide a stunning and moving experience. One leaves with admiration for Eustacia's tenacity in seeking that elusive thing we all seek, a world in which we feel we truly belong and can lead meaningful and fulfilled lives. Her feeling of being an outsider in Egdon Heath is a feeling which is universal. If you enjoyed the book, I predict you will be well pleased with this film. (Also, Joan Plowright stands at as Mrs. Yeobright.)

Clym

[droberts-41525 · 7/10 · 9 January 2018]

This film had it all for the first hour and then totally collapsed. This sandwiched version did little for the novel . Zeta Jones outstanding but Stevenson as Clym is a disaster. He did not become Clym but was only acting it out and very poorly he was totally unconvincing especially where he was losing his sight . It could have been a classic , pity

Groan! What a waste of a brilliant cast!

[coverstory · 1/10 · 25 May 2007]

Thomas Hardy is one of my favorite authors. Some truly wonderful movies have been made from his novels ("Far From the Madding Crowd," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," "The Mayor of Casterbridge"), and I had high hopes for this one. The Hallmark-Hall-of-Fame-ification of "Return of the Native" totally wrecked it. The cast was terrific, the photography excellent, but the script was dismal and the direction positively ruinous. People walked up to people, said lines, walked away. A meager excitement developed when Clive Owen and Catherine Zeta Jones (very young, very beautiful) exchanged a bit of flesh-pressing, but even Clive, who is a superb actor, couldn't save it. It was awash with the usual Hallmark "romantic" strings background music and pretend bumpkins offering plot exposition, and what could have been dynamite turned out to be awful. The richness of the above three movies was commpletely absent.

Formulaic Tragedy Done Well

[VimalaNowlis · 7/10 · 29 September 2015]

It seems that all western literature have the same theme. All tragedies are due to the stupidity of men and all comedies are due to the cleverness of women.

As this movie is based on a Thomas Hardy story, it is naturally a tragedy. True to form, the stupidity of men, was the primary cause of the tragedy. Of course, a woman must be blamed especially if the woman is not content to be an obedient and docile wife to a selfish and blind husband.

Clym, as a spoiled only son, only ever thought of himself. What he wants was all he cared. It never mattered what his mother wanted or what his wife wanted. He must have his way. When his wish was challenged, he blamed his mother. When his dream was shattered, he blamed his wife. Yet, he was considered the good son, the good man, the good husband, and the hero. That's the real tragedy.

Eustasia, as a girl with a dream beyond the small backwards village in a harsh landscape, only dreamed of a better life in the shinny world. But the ignorant villagers shunned her as a witch. No matter what she does, she was the evil one. Her stupid selfish husband never understood because he only thought of himself and what he wants. In the end, she could only escape from her jail was to die. That's the real tragedy.

That was the bleak rural life of Thomas Hardy's England. I gave the movie 7 stars because it was well staged, well acted, and focused.

Oo-arr, oo-arrrr......

[s-j-james · 3/10 · 20 August 2008]

Remember the wooden, undramatic literary adaptations of the 1970s at their worst? You will when you see this broadly acted, unintentionally hilarious piece of chocolate-box adaptation. Most culpable of all is Catherine Z-J who, while undeniably easy on the eye, substitutes swishing a big dress and looking sultry for actually turning in a performance. Played po-faced like a melodrama, or Cold Comfort Farm without the jokes, this effort is not helped by a scriptwriter with a tin ear for dialogue who misses entirely the novel's sense of irony or tragedy. A shame, given the quality of the acting talent on offer - Joan Plowright, Claire Skinner, Steven Macintosh all deserve better than this.

Not bad...but the last 20 minutes REALLY spoilt it

[r_bex4eva · 8/10 · 20 May 2006]

I gave it an 8 out of 10 primarily for the fact that it had a lot to live up to and on the whole did it well.

**WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD**

So here are the good bits: The cast were superb. I couldn't have cast anyone better myself than Catherine Zeta Jones for Eustacia Vye, she fitted the role perfectly. Damon Wildeve and Clym Yeobright I also felt were very successful at living up to Hardy's original characters, and the rest of the cast were equally good. Most of the first hour was good, though a lot of the lines were completely created and not taken from the original text, it did stick to the original book quite sufficiently. It included the mummer's play which I felt certain they'd leave out, and the gypsying event that Eustacia attends was done very well. Also, Clym and Eustascia's courting was done nicely.

Now for the negatives: Up until Mrs Yeobright's death I quite liked it. Even though Wildeve's and Thomasin's wedding was completely messed up (Clym shouldn't have been there, Eustacia should have given Thomasin away - which I would have like to have seen, Susan Nunsuch shouldn't have stabbed Eustacia then etc) and Clym and Eustacia's meeting wasn't true to Hardy (there was no bucket incident I'm afraid)it was still overall good. Then Mrs Yeobright died - OF A HEART ATTACK!!!! When did Mrs Yeobright die of a heart attack???? I felt that it was an important detail that she died from exhaustion and was stung by an adder - as by using the adder fat to rub on the wound, Clym - the modern man - was shown reverting back to old, superstitions and remedies. But no...it was from a heart attack. And It wasn't just little Johnny who was there to witness it...it was the whole of the heath! This definitely lost dramatic impact as the climatic line when Johnny burst into the abandoned mud hut "she told me to tell you I'd seen the face of a broken hearted woman cast off by her son" was really underplayed. And then after this it all went down hill. Clym didn't rave and whine, and wasn't seen as pathetic. We didn't grow distant from him as we do in the book, and our sympathies weren't entirely with Eustacia as they should have been. Eustacia and Clym's relationship didn't show a dramatic decline, and so when Eustacia left, it seemed a bit melodramatic as they weren't really arguing at all. Thomasin never gave birth to little Eustacia, a poignant irony disappointingly left out (and whilst I remember there was no such issue with money - no guineas, no inheritance for Wildeve -not even any gambling and glow worms.) And the ending just took the biscuit. In the book I cried when Eustacia and Wildeve died, no I didn't, I literally sobbed! When watching this I was nearly reduced to laughing it was just so bad! The whole stormy heath scene was terrible! Eustacia had no soliloquy ("I have been blighted and injured and crushed by things beyond my control!…) so it wasn't such a loss when she died and Wildeve's lyrical line "O! My darling!" was excluded so his tragic hero image was completely absent. There was no build up, no climax, nothing. I felt really disappointed by this point. And just when I thought the ending couldn't possibly get any worse, along comes Eustacias ghost! Cue me dieing myself! Unfortunately very cheaply done, it possessed no sentimental value and on the whole was just quite hilarious - a future note for director Jack Gold, don't use that one again.

Thankfully though it missed most of book six - After courses out…which to be perfectly honest is a dreadful read!

So it sounds like I hated it…just to make clear I didn't hate the whole of it just the ending. Perhaps in future I'll stop it before Mrs Yeobright dies.

A forgotten romantic drama

[breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com · 7/10 · 13 July 2017]

People get caught up in all kinds of things in their everyday lives. Whether it's their career, hobbies or other peoples' problems, some individuals can't seem to let go of their insatiable interest in certain things. Too much of anything isn't good for you in general. However, the most toxic of all topics is getting trapped on a consistent basis is in one's romantic life. Lovers fall for each other all the time, 365 days a year. What they don't understand is how quickly overrun they can become with their emotions. Once this occurs they can become completely distracted and not even see the flaws in the person they desire or the mistakes they might make themselves. It can also cause that same person swamped with lust to neglect anything else that might required some kind of obligation. This is dangerous and must be stopped. For novelist Thomas Hardy, these were themes he focused on a lot. With other written works like Tess of the d'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure, The Return of the Native also visited this subject.

Eustacia Vye (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is an attractive young woman who lives on a heath in England, but wants to move to France. Her reason for this being that the rest of the town thinks of her as a modern day witch. She's already known for partially seducing Damon Wildeve (Clive Owen), the soon to be husband of Thomasin Yeobright (Claire Skinner), of which Wildeve is more keen on moving away from the heath. That is until Clym Yeobright (Ray Stevenson), the cousin of Thomasin returns from France. When Eustacia and Clym first meet, they become quite infatuated with each other. Not long after they get married and move out of the heath, but not to France. In turn, Vye still longs for France and Wildeve hopes to see Vye once more. Adapted by Robert W. Lenski, the teleplay for this film operates in a way that shows just how muddled people's emotions can get after finding the one they love. There's lots of back and forth between characters and that's normally how events like these happen. Lenski has written almost all teleplays.

Primetime Emmy nominated director Jack Gold governed this picture. With drama genre films being his strength, Gold knows mostly how to keep the plot engaging. With the threads of Vye, Yeobright and Wildeve taking up much of the plot, Gold and Lenski also work in Diggory Venn (Steven Mackintosh), a field worker who had hopes of marrying Thomasin but was too poor to do so. The person behind this roadblock was Mrs. Yeobright (Joan Plowright). She also feared, like the rest of the town, that Eustacia was the cause of all problems. What doesn't exactly work within the feature are two small areas. The first being that by the finale, one character thread is left unresolved. It's so noticeable, it could make the viewer wonder if the production crew just forgot to film a scene or something. Second, the issue of how English was spoken at the time. According to the story, it is set in 1842, yet the way English is spoken sounds like it belongs to Antoine Fuqua's King Arthur (2004). And yet that took place way before the 1800s.

The emotional drama that occurs throughout the running time though is executed properly by the cast. Since this film is much older now, it is quite a sight to see such big name actors in their younger years. Catherine Zeta-Jones as Eustacia Vye is quite the onlooker and is very skilled in getting what she wants from the people who can't resist her. That is until she meets Cylm Yeobright. For Clive Owen as Damon Wildeve, it's unusual seeing him play a character that's not so caring of others. Owen doesn't play it as a jerk, but is somewhat difficult to sympathize with. Ray Stevenson was the right choice to play Clym Yeobright. Stevenson plays Clym like a true gentleman and is also the one viewers should condole with mostly. Both Stevenson and Zeta-Jones have good chemistry on screen and are quite a pair (as some minor characters stated in the movie itself). What's more surprising is that Owen and Stevenson would end up starring together a decade later in King Arthur (2004). Fancy that.

For supporting characters, Claire Skinner as Thomasin is a caring young woman. Although she may seem slightly weak at first, she does manage to take hold of the reigns and lead the way occasionally. Steven Mackintosh plays rather an underrated and overlooked character as Diggory Venn. He's also the best example of how patience pays off when it comes to treating your enemies with respect. Mackintosh was also in Brian Henson's The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). For visuals, even for a TV film, the cinematography was very palatable by Alan Hume. Much of the picture contains the 1800s homes and surrounding grasslands in the country. It's very beautiful to look at, even with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Hume also worked on Zeppelin (1971), Octopussy (1983) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). As for music, another unreleased soundtrack this time by composer Carl Davis was well produced too. Containing a repeating main title, the tune isn't completely memorable but does replay often.

Looking past some very minor places within this feature, this old romance story is a fascinating drama that will keep the attention of its audience. The actors are younger than ever, the music has an outlining theme and the camera-work is very pretty.

Read The Book Instead

[hendrixst2000 · 3/10 · 11 February 2012]

This is what happens when you try to turn a richly detailed 400 page book into a 100 minute made-for-TV Hallmark Hall of Fame movie. Needless to say, much is lost. The script ignores Hardy's lush narrative and substitutes expedient blather. Characters aren't developed so they come across as shallow and one-dimensional. Wildeve's passion for Eustacia is portrayed (to cite one example) as simple lust. In the book, his feelings are more complex.

"As for Wildeve, his feelings are easy to guess. Obstacles were a ripening sun to his love, and he was at this moment in a delirium of exquisite misery. To clasp as his for five minutes what was another man's through all the rest of the year was a kind of thing he of all men could appreciate."

Because of time constraints, events are compressed, condensed and in some cases simply deleted. The subject of Thomasin's and Clym's inheritance (and an associated lengthy and amusing gambling sequence) is completely ignored. Worse yet, Mrs. Yeobright's attempted reconciliation with her daughter-in-law, her long, torturous and dramatic journey to her son's house and back, and the subsequent repercussions, are given absurdly brief and unconscionably unfaithful treatments. Thus, the arguably most important episode in the novel, the one that precipitates all of the ensuing tragedy, is glossed over in the movie. The (strangely well-lit) climactic storm sequence was also botched.

As for the acting, I thought that Catherine Zeta-Jones as Eustacia Wye and Clive Owen as Damon Wildeve were actually pretty good given what they had to work with. Of course I might not have been so charitable with CZJ if she looked more like, say, Roseanne Barr. Steven Mackintosh succeeds in capturing the quiet dignity of the Diggory Venn character. Everyone else was pretty much forgettable except for Ray Stevenson who was awful as Clym Yeobright.

Another positive – good scenery, reasonably faithful to Hardy's (extensive) description of Egdon Heath.

Beautifully done!

[ADORA · 10/10 · 27 April 1999]

This movie is very well done! The acting is exceptional! It is a wonderful adaptation of the novel. I was enthralled from the beginning. The gorgeous landscapes, & beautiful period costumes help to make this movie a must see! I highly recommend it!

Clive Owen could become the next "James Bond 007".

[james362001 · 4/10 · 14 May 2003]

I saw this Hallmark television movie when it originally aired. I lost interest in the story because a character was said to be a witch. I just was not in the right frame of mind to watch this film. But Hallmark stands for the best, quality films. Now, there is a reason to give this film a second look. Clive Owen who plays "Damon Wildeve" just might have a chance to be selected as the next James Bond 007 when Pierce Brosnan passes it on. Clive Owen might have to wait until the year 2008. The other reason is the female lead is Catherine Zeta-Jones is now a celebrity (she was an unknown at the time) and became an Academy Award winner for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2003. Joan Plowright as "Mrs. Yeobright" is also in this film. I like the opening line in this film: "Deliver my heart from this fearful, lonely place. Send me a great love from somewhere or else I shall die, truly I shall die."

Fantastic adaptation of classic Hardy

[drew_graham1 · 24 March 2003]

I saw this first when my older sister watched it for a class in high school and I was immediately taken by Catherine Zeta-Jones. She looked stunning, nearly perfect in every particular, almost like a flawless Disney heroine. Later, when I read the book (which soon became my favorite classic novel of all time), and did a research paper on Hardy heroines (Eustacia Vye from The Return of the Native, Bathsheba Everdene from Far from the Madding Crowd and Tess Durbefield from Tess of the D'Urbervilles), I read the description of Eustacia and found that Zeta-Jones was TYPECAST as the seemingly angelic, but ultimately tortmented woman. I quickly became a Catherine Zeta-Jones fan and sought out her other films. This one ranks as one of her best.

A fantastic work, especially for Hallmark, I agree that had it been made in Hollywood, Catherine would have won her first Oscar long before Chicago. Watch this heartbreaking film and then (or before), read the book. Also outstanding are Clive Owen as the equally tormented Damon Wildeve and Ray Stevenson as Clym Yeobright and the title character. Diggory Venn and Thomasin Yeobright are also well-played.

10/10.

Better to read the book

[jromanbaker · 2/10 · 18 May 2023]

I have always liked Thomas Hardy, and over a two day period saw television versions of ' The Mayor of Casterbridge ' ruined by Alan Bates overacting and lasting seven hours ( I lost counting it was so slow ) and the 1994 Hallmark version with bad acting of ' The Return of the Native. ' The latter and shorter version had pretty scenery, thumpingly atmospheric music by Carl Davis ( he did ' The Mayor of Casterbridge ' as well but years earlier in 1978 ) and performances that would have made an amateur dramatic society wince. No spoilers but the ending was not the one Hardy preferred and the director clearly chose the ' nice ' one. The only actor who convinced was Joan Plowright but then it was not a hard role for her to succeed in doing. Catherine Zeta-Jones walked through it but in my opinion without any depth, and all of the men in her life were bland. Despite the blandness it was Operatic and too rushed and I suppose the actors involved did not have the space and time in the drama to see these characters in the round. Zeta-Jones did not seem tormented but tiresome in her need to escape the rural life of Egdon Heath for Paris. I would advise viewers to avoid most filmed versions of Hardy as quite frankly most of them have not taken well to the screen. Polanski got near, but even then pretty images got in the way. Hardy's world is rough and fatalistic and should again in my opinion be read and not seen. A 2 for Plowright and the inimitable sound of her voice.

Utter rubbish

[jesscat88 · 1/10 · 25 April 2005]

This film is an almost complete waste of time. I am studying the book for my English A level, and the film only contributes in one way, and that's getting across that the whole scenario is set in a rural idyll. The acting is wooden, the filmography is laughable, and the so called dramatic scenes in the film had the majority of my class (including me) snickering into their texts. The book, although not my favourite literary choice, is miles better than the film is, and the sound track is just plain irritating. Don't watch this film unless you are looking for a timeless, quality storyline transformed into mindless, media waste.

Wuthering Heights In Wessex

[Noirdame79 · 8/10 · 7 February 2009]

I caught the first half hour of this when it originally aired on CBS in 1994, but as I was a teenager I did not know of Thomas Hardy's work, nor did I recognize Catherine Zeta-Jones or Clive Owen as they were both unknown in North America at the time. I have since taken a liking to watching period films and reading the classic novels upon which they are based. I have read the novel of The Return of the Native several times; it is one of my favorite Hardy novels, but I couldn't help but notice some similarities to Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, similarities that are evident in the film as well. Wind-swept moors, a headstrong, misguided heroine who marries a kind-hearted but dull gentleman for opportunity and possibility of society acceptance yet she maintains her strong connection to the brooding, roguish man who is tormented by the spell she casts. Spell, of course, used as a figure of speech, although raven-haired Eustacia Vye (Zeta-Jones) is suspected to be a witch and shunned by the locals of Egdon Heath, since her effect on men seems to have some kind of bewitching quality in their eyes. Even though Damon Wildeve (Owen) is pledged to marry the fair Thomasin Yeobright (Claire Skinner), he cannot seem to shake his feelings for Eustacia, who keeps drawing him to her with her bonfires and her indecision to leave England with him. As much as she wants to escape from Egdon, she feels that somehow Wildeve is beneath her, so when Thomasin's cousin Clym (Ray Stevenson) returns from Paris, she immediately sets her sights on him and leaves Damon in the dust. He, in turn, marries Thomasin almost out of spite, hoping to hurt Eustacia, but she only pushes forward with her plan to win Clym's heart, wed him and hoping that he will take her away from the heath she despises so much. However, with Hardy, things rarely the work out the way his characters hope - Clym wants to stay in Wessex, to open a school and live simply, which only brings his wife to despair and boredom. She begins to wonder if she made a mistake, and re-encountering her former lover only cements her confusion. She is somewhat torn, and this ultimately brings on her downfall as well as Damon's. Other notable portrayals are Steven MackIntosh as reddleman Diggory Venn, who unselfishly loves Thomasin and will do anything to see her happy; his character is both honorable and down-to-earth yet possesses a kind of unworldly knowledge about what he sees around him. And the ever reliable Joan Plowright as Clym's mother turns in yet another wonderful performance. Of course, there are liberties taken (cause of death of Mrs. Yeobright is altered, omission of Damon and Thomasin's child, inclusion of more of the novel's text would have been good at the climax), but overall, for the running time, Hallmark did a commendable job with this presentation. The characters of Eustacia, Wildeve, Diggory and even Thomasin have always held more interest for me than Clym, who in my opinion was never a very compelling character to begin with, sort of like Edgar Linton. Stevenson, also a virtual unknown at the time, does well with his pretty much thankless role - I never really understood what Eustacia saw in him other than her plans for escape and maybe his idealism, but Damon was a far better match for her. With Clym, she sees what she wants to see, whereas with Damon the reality is something that she doesn't know if she wants to see (there has to be some symbolism of Clym losing his sight). Of course, Eustacia and Damon are the most tragic, and are doomed, not only because they are both outsiders and their relationship to each other (which would be considered scandalous in Victorian England), but their desire to escape is only achieved in death. One of the complaints I have about this production is how there was none of the novel's dialogue when Eustacia takes her fatal plunge and Wildeve's ill-fated attempt to rescue her were included.

Filmed in Exmoor National Park (rather than in Dorset), the location does make the setting seem more rugged and wild, the music is very emotional and romantic, the cinematography very lush and pretty, Zeta-Jones is costumed more colorfully than the other women, no doubt to make to make her more distinctive (but her beauty does that alone). Very good supporting cast also. And I have to say, I cannot picture anyone else but Catherine and Clive in the roles, even when I read the novel. It's worth seeing for them and the landscape alone!

Pretty bad

[hankochai · 2/10 · 17 October 2005]

I rented this because I couldn't pass up the chance to see pre-Hollywood-fame Clive Owen and Catherine Zeta Jones together, but it definitely wasn't worth it. The only reason I give it two stars instead of one is for the novelty of seeing them before they made it big across the pond.

Zeta Jones, who is usually fun to watch even if she isn't the greatest thesp in the world, is awful. Owen seems really uncomfortable to be in such a turkey, plus he wears a ridiculous, egregiously ill-fitting chin-length wig (at least I hope that's a wig and not his real hair). And the scene where he dances a country jig with Zeta Jones just makes you embarrassed for him. Joan Plowright walks around in a daze the whole movie -- she's probably wondering how she got herself into such a mess.

The actress who plays Clive Owen's wife isn't terrible, but just about everyone else is. Oh, and the writing stinks too.

Heart Breaking

[Yaron-6 · 10/10 · 4 October 1999]

Now here is an example of how a movie can be worth to a novel it's based on. And if you didn't read the book first (like I didn't), it can break your heart. Because it's a TV movie it never received the full recognition it deserves. I think that had it been done in Hollywood, with all the whistles and bells, it would have been a hit, and Catherine Zeta Jones would have had her 1st academy award.

I've got to admit I am a Catherine Zeta Jones fan, but at the time I saw this movie on TV I never heard her name. She got here a chance to show her acting skills, and she took it with both hands. Eustacia Vye is so hypnotising and full of passion and dreams, and has such bad lack, it breaks your heart.

the movie has Catherine Zeta Jones in it

[newmans · 3/10 · 9 March 2006]

Well!! the movie has Catherine Zeta Jones in it. It's a Hallmark television movie. It's from a Thomas Hardy novel. It has Catherine Zeta Jones in it. She is by far the only one in the movie who acts better than in my high school theater class. Oh yes it has Clive Owen in it. I'm not British so that means almost as much as being a Thomas Hardy novel. Except he was in "The Bourne Identity", and I liked that. That just about wraps it all up folks. That really all there was. I'm becoming repetitive, but I do like CZJ, so I stuck it out to the end. The computer is telling me that I don't have 10 lines and I keep counting them. I always count 11, but maybe it just doesn't like my style, but that is my opinion of the movie, too.

Catherine Zeta-Jones is much more than a pretty face

[The Continental Op · 4 August 1999]

Being both a fan of Catherine Zeta-Jones and of Thomas Hardy's tempest-tossed heroines, I had an uncontrollable urge to rent this film when I discovered it languishing on a dust covered shelf in my local video store. Happily, I was not disappointed. "Return of the Native" is the story of Eusticia Vance, a rather ambitious girl who comes back to her village in the south of England after years abroad to (rather innocently) wreak havoc on the local men. Although not one of Hardy's best stories, it gives Zeta-Jones a chance to show that she can act (and surprisingly well) if given a good role.

This role is very reminiscent of the high-spirited, ultimately doomed women Ava Gardner used to play. Copies of this video should be passed out to every casting agent in Hollywood. It could prevent atrocities like "The Haunting" in the future. So if you like gorgeously filmed, well-acted period pieces, or if you are simply a Catherine Zeta-Jones completist, I recommend "Return of the Native".

Catherine the Great

[JamesHitchcock · 8/10 · 3 March 2014]

To celebrate my 1,300th review for IMDb, I turn to a film based on the work of my favourite author. Despite his prominent position in the canon of English literature, Thomas Hardy has never really been a mainstay of the cinema in the way that, say Dickens or (in recent years) Jane Austen have been. Although there have been occasional excellent Hardy adaptations, such as Schlesinger's "Far from the Madding Crowd" or Polanski's "Tess", a number of his novels have never been the subject of a feature film. I am not just talking about his more obscure works such as "Desperate Remedies" or "The Hand of Ethelberta"; there has never been a film based upon a novel as great as "The Mayor of Casterbridge", unless one counts Michael Winterbottom's eccentric "The Claim", which alters the plot considerably and transfers it to the American West. "The Return of the Native" is another great Hardy novel which has never been filmed for the cinema; this TV movie from 1994 is the only film version.

The plot is essentially a complex love pentagon. At its heart are two unhappy marriages, those of Damon and Thomasin ("Tamsin") Wildeve and Clement ("Clym") and Eustacia Yeobright. The fifth corner of the pentagon is Diggory Venn, a young man who was a rejected suitor for Thomasin's hand before her marriage. Damon and Eustacia were lovers before their respective marriages, and both cherish the hope that their former intimacy can be rekindled. (Their spouses Clym and Thomasin are cousins).

Hardy pays comparatively little attention to the Wildeves' marriage; the simple problem between them is that Damon, an innkeeper by trade, is a handsome scoundrel with a roving eve who finds it impossible to remain faithful to one woman. He analyses the Yeobrights' marriage, however, in greater detail. Clym, the returning native of the title, has been a successful diamond merchant based in Paris. Eustacia is a proud and independent young woman, intelligent if with little formal education, who dreams of seeing the wider world. Her main hope in marrying Clym was that he would return to Paris taking her with him. He, however, has tired of the diamond trade and of the comfortable middle-class life he led in Paris. He believes that he has been called to some higher purpose in life and dreams of opening a local school where he can teach the local children of the remote heathland area in which the story is set. Eustacia hates the heathland, which she sees as bleak and forbidding, so is dismayed to realise that her husband is set upon spending the rest of his life there. It is her discontent, and Damon's faithlessness, which precipitate the story's final tragedy.

The settings for Hardy's novels are always significant. The landscape takes on such importance that it almost becomes a character in its own right, and this is particularly true of "The Return of the Native". It is therefore unfortunate that the makers of this film decided to shoot it on Exmoor rather than the Dorset heaths (or "Egdon Heath"as Hardy called them). Geographically the two areas are not too far apart, but the landscapes we see here are more rugged and mountainous than anywhere in Dorset and more conventionally picturesque. I couldn't help feeling that if Eustacia had grown up in the beautiful countryside we see here she would never have wanted to leave.

I felt that Claire Skinner was a bit weak as Thomasin (although, to be fair to her, the sweet-natured Thomasin, overshadowed by her rogue of a husband and her more glamorous rival Eustacia, is not the strongest character in the novel). These, however, would be my only criticisms of the film, which is in all other respects a very worthy adaptation of a great novel, and follows its story fairly closely. (There are, however, a few simplifications and alterations of Hardy's plot, notably the manner of Clym's mother's death). The rest of the cast are generally very good, and I was very taken with Ray Stevenson as the decent and idealistic Clym. (I am rather surprised that I have not heard more of him since 1994). The real revelation for me, however- certainly when I first saw the film- was the performance of Catherine Zeta Jones as Eustacia.

Apart from Tess, Eustacia is Hardy's greatest heroine, in my view greater even than Bathsheba Everdene. She is by temperament utterly unsuited to her sincere, kindly husband, and brings tragedy on him and on herself through her wild and impetuous behaviour, yet it is impossible for the reader not to feel some sympathy with her in a way in which we do not feel sympathy with, for example, her lover Wildeve. Like Clym, she can see all too clearly the darker side of life on Egdon Heath and the narrowness and ignorance of its denizens, some of whom quite literally still practise witchcraft. Unlike him, she is unable to see the beauty of the area or to envisage any solution to its problems other than escaping from them.

In 1994 Catherine Zeta was a striking young newcomer, strikingly and exotically beautiful, but generally regarded as most at home in light comedies like the "Darling Buds of May" television series in which she first made her name. "The Return of the Native" was her first chance to prove herself as a tragic actress, and she rose brilliantly to the challenge of playing this challenging role. She has, of course, gone on to become a major international star, although I have sometimes thought that Hollywood has used her too much as a comedienne and action heroine and has not done enough to find similarly demanding parts for her. This still remains my favourite of all her films. 8/10

Hardy and Hallmark make a great combination

[Red-125 · 10/10 · 12 January 2017]

The Return of the Native (1994) (TV) was directed by Jack Gold. Many of us read Return of the Native in high school. That's because it's a great novel. Hallmark has given us a rendition that's faithful to the text.

The plot takes place on Egdon Heath, which--even in 1878--was still a wild and primitive location. The people who live there have not shed off their pagan past. Some still believe in witchcraft. In fact, Eustacia Vye (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is thought to be a witch by some of the locals. Not only is Zeta-Jones an excellent actor, but her exotic beauty is perfect for this part.

Clive Owen plays the seducer Damon Wildeve, Ray Stevenson plays the learned Clym Yeobright, who loses his vision so that he can't read. Chaire Skinner plays Thomasin, who is kind and gentle--everything that Eustacia isn't. Steven Mackintosh portrays Diggory Venn, an enigmatic reddleman. (Reddle is a red dye used to mark sheep.)

I think acting honors go to Dame Joan Plowright, as Clym Yeobright's mother. Dame Joan is perfectly cast as the mother who sees her son taking the wrong path, and is helpless to stop him.

This film will work better in a theater than on the small screen, even though it was made for TV. However, we saw it at home, on VHS, and it was still wonderful. When a classic novel is turned into an excellent movie, you don't want to miss it. Seek out this film and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

Superb!!

[zetafan9_25 · 10 February 2001]

This romance drama was marvelous. Considering it was on tv I thought it was wonderfully done. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the gorgeous Eustacia Vye, who is in search of romance. She plays the part very well and looks gorgeous as usual. Highly recommend.

Superb!!!

Who will marry the witch?

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 30 December 2022]

Several years before she became a household name and won an Oscar for "Chicago", Catherine Zeta-Jones had a great part playing a mysterious woman whom the townsfolk in the British countryside believe to be a witch. She has already beguiled the handsome Clive Owen but sets her sights on the cousin of the woman Owen is set to marry, causing town matriarch (Joan Plowright) great distress. Plowright, determined to keep niece Claire Skinner from marrying Owen must now try to keep her son, Ray Stevenson, from marrying Zeta-Jones, but that causes him to make a choice she doesn't like, leading to some creepy twists.

A very colorful but grim fairy tale, this is a beautifully filmed version of the Thomas Hardy novel, certainly the "Wicked" of its time. The film leaves it up to the viewer to figure out if Catherine's character really is a witch for most of it, giving it an air of mystery and making them wonder if she went after Stevenson out of revenge or if she really loved him, adding aspects of sympathy to her character regardless of what her motivations really are. The dark beauty of Zeta-Jones is perfect for this part, yet she doesn't play the role with the type of camp that other actresses played gothic characters with. Plowright definitely steals every moment that she's on screen, making her character much more than a one-dimensional fish life and possessive mother. So much to love about this TV movie, it is truly beguiling, casting a spell on me from the start.