Set amidst a very much class-ridden Britain, the eponymous aspiring stone mason (Christopher Eccleston) has settled down to marriage with "Arabella" (Rachel Griffiths) but dreams of escaping his life of physical labours and entering university. That opportunity might just come his way when she leaves him and he heads to the town where his cousins "Sue" (Kate Winslet) lives. She's a bit of a firebrand and despite their relationship they begin, well, a relationship. He isn't entirely honest with her, though, and when she discovers that he is still married, albeit estranged, she reacts in a fashion that can only hurt them both. To add to their woes, society still takes a very dim view of the unmarried and even when they try to reconcile, any attempt at happiness seems constantly under threat as they struggle to find somewhere to live and look after three young children. These struggles are as nothing though when a ghastly tragedy strikes and the pair are torn asunder with their relationship stripped to the bone and from which recovery might never be possible, however strong their love. Can anything be salvaged from this ghastly scenario? I am afraid that I've always found Eccleston to be an underwhelming performer, and here he isn't really any different. Winslet does better though, managing to convey some of the spirit of a young woman still swimming against a societal tide, but doing so with a practical stoicism that illustrates many of the issues faced by mothers who wanted to do more at the time than tend home and hearth. June Whitfield makes a few amiable contributions as the rather sagely aunt and Liam Cunningham lends extra authenticity to the story but it rather meanders too much at times for me. It looks good, attention to the detail of the period and locations has been paid, but I found the Thomas Hardy story just a little contrived to prod the parochial, attitudinal, bear.
