We watched Tess on a defective DVD that essentially quit working about half way through -- which, I'll admit, may have prejudiced my reaction. But the notion that Tess (Natassia Kinski), this neatly dressed,socially skilled jewel, might have emerged from the squalor in which she was born and raised struck me as so improbable as to have undermined the film from the beginning. That the rich son of the family that had appropriated the D'Urberville name might have seduced or forced himself on the young woman is certainly believable but Tess is made out to superior in moral character and status -- if not social status -- to her seducer, and that is is utterly unconvincing. It would have easier to believe if Tess was beautiful but not very well dressed and undereducated, which would have certainly been the case in the time when the movie was set. We had difficulty following exactly what happened after the birth of Tess's bastard child, but the general direction was obvious. Frankly this could and should have been a better movie. Kinski deserves an A for her portrayal of Tess, Roman Polanski a B+ for photography and, at best, a B- for direction.
Review of Tess
