GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

l_rawjalaurence Set in contemporary Mumbai, TRISHNA is the tragic tale of a young woman (Freida Pinto) plucked from a village by a rich entrepreneur (Riz Ahmed) to live the high life, but finds herself very much at his beck and call with very little opportunity for self-determination. The story is an object lesson in how to understand the phrase "all that glisters is not gold," while pointing out the evils of capitalism in the newly-rich world of the Indian bourgeoisie.Michael Winterbottom's film has a fine sense of place, stressing the contrasts between the young woman Trishna's rural origins, her new life in Mumbai and her subsequent decampment to Rajasthan, where she is expected to work as a servant to Jay - the entrepreneur - while being a lover at the same time. The combination of roles proves too much for her, leading to a violent denouement. Jay is portrayed as a superficial character for whom money has far more importance than love; on many occasions the two concepts are deliberately conflated so that he can achieve his ends. Riz Ahmed turns in a fine performance, his facial expressions seldom changing as he returns to India from a prosperous life in London and expects the local people to act at his beck and call.Stylistically speaking, however, TRISHNA is rather irritating. Winterbottom's camera finds it difficult to focus on one particular object or person at a time; the shooting style is jerky, with several fast cuts between one thing and another. This serves a thematic purpose - to underline the superficialities of Jay's existence - but becomes rather difficult to watch. Consequently we find it difficult to sympathize with the protagonists - especially Trishna, even though she is very much the victim of a patriarchal society. Freida Pinto turns in a nuanced performance, but Winterbottom does not allow us to focus much on her facial expressions. The film might have worked better as a tragic love story if he had permitted us to understand her complex state of mind more fully.

jamesmartin1995 Michael Winterbottom's contemporary update of 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' was something that I had been looking forward to seeing for a long time. This is his third adaptation of a Thomas Hardy novel, and by far his most audacious: taking a story set in 19th century England and relocating it to modern day India, while retaining the essence and nuance of the original story, was no easy feat. Unfortunately, it shows. I knew from the beginning that this was not a movie to judge as a literary adaptation, and I refuse to do so. This should be judged on its merits as a film in its own right – but even with this taken into consideration, there are major problems. First, I would like to state that there are things to admire in this movie. Freida Pinto in the main role proves to the world (if there was any doubt after her performance in 'Slumdog Millionaire') what a talented actress she is. Combine with this with some truly beautiful cinematography and a story packed with emotional depth and powerful statements about modern Indian society, relationships and sexual politics – and we should be on for a winner, surely!Yet, despite Pinto's wonderful lead performance, her talents do not extend to some of her co-stars - most notably Riz Ahmed, who in an inspired but flawed directorial decision plays a character in whom Alec and Angel from the novel are combined. The result, although more successful than I originally thought it would be, still isn't entirely believable, especially in the film's final third – by far the weakest section of the film. There are other, more minor flaws: with the exception of some wonderful technical flourishes (including a brilliantly filmed murder scene at the end of the film, and some interesting decisions in the cinematography department in shooting a car crash nearer the start of the movie), the editing is sometimes very shoddy, which undercuts not only some of the most beautiful filmed scenes in the movie, but also creates frequent continuity errors. However, by far the most disappointing thing about 'Trishna' is its script: it sounds all the way through like a first draft. The characters talk in tired clichés, and surprisingly, there are no interesting set pieces until very near the end of the movie, meaning that for most of its running time, the film is running on neutral, with very little passion or forward momentum driving the plot along. It stalls far too often, and although I don't know how many scenes were consigned to the cutting room floor before the film's release, I would argue whole-heartedly that there are still more that could be shed.I'm sorry to say that 'Trishna', despite great potential, left me very disappointed. It is a flawed melodrama with no gusto or passion, which inevitably means that its overwrought ending feels horribly out of place. It isn't a complete disaster – as I have said, there are positives, and it is certainly a brave and interesting effort, which I am sure many film buffs and lovers of literature will be itching to see: indeed, I would encourage them to see it (albeit with their expectations lowered). However, for me, Roman Polanski's 1979 film 'Tess' remains the definitive adaptation of the Hardy novel.

billcr12 Trishna is a love story based on the Thomas Hardy novel Tess of the D'urbervilles. I haven't read it or seen the Polanski adaptation with Nastassia Kinski. Freida Pinto is the Tess character this time round, and she is breathtakingly beautiful; so casting is not the problem here. The story is so fractured, and the editing so poor, that I don't know what the filmmakers were going for.It begins with a group of bored upper class Indians on a balcony discussing the best cities to party in. They get in a Jeep and drive recklessly around like a bunch of college frat boys. They visit an ancient temple where Jay; the leader of the pack, spots the stunning Trishna. He gets up to dance with her and later drops her off at the lower class families home. The next day, Trishna is riding on the back of her father's truck to deliver produce when they crash into another vehicle and her dad is so badly injured that he cannot work. Jay comes to the rescue by offering Trishna a job at his father's big resort hotel. She works as a servant and he eventually has an encounter with her. The next morning she goes back home very quietly. Three months of vomiting and a visit to a doctor confirm a pregnancy which is terminated. Jay reappears, and a few dance numbers are presented in between for no apparent reason. Trishna ends up at another of Jay's dad's hotels working once again as a servant. They also have a secret sexual relationship which grows cold and distant very quickly. At this point, I had lost interest in both Jay and Trishna. The camera loves Ms. Pinto, but she needs better material to work with.

freemantle_uk There have been many modernisations of classic novels and plays, from Alfonso Cuaron's Great Expectations and Baz Luhrman's version of Romeo + Juliet. Now Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles have been given a modern version thanks to Michael Winterbottom.In Rajasthan, Trishna (Freida Pinto) is a young woman in rural Rajasthan who lives with her large family and meets a British traveller, Jay Singh (Riz Ahmed). When her father is badly injured and the family indebted, Jay offers Freida the her a job at his father's hotel in Jaipur. Soon Jay offers Freida the chance of an education, advancement and financial support for her family. But as they grow closer they start a on-off relationship and are continually drawn to each other.Setting the updated version of Tess of the D'Urbervilles, it would not have worked in Modern Britain and India does have issues involving rural poverty, a massive class divide, splits between rich and poor and traditional social values in that nation. But I found Trishna to be a rather dull affair. It was boring from a story perspective, that it wanted to try and cram too much of the novel into the film, resulting with numerous montages showing the passing of time instead of showing events in detail. The visuals and the performances are bland, the cinematography and art direction neither has any real grit or realism nor a bright colourful visual. There are some good moments like a tender moment when Jay and Trishna are in bed and she reveals a secret and when the relationship when it gets darker. But at the same time I did not quite buy the relationship between the two, either as it was forbidden or that Ray is Trishna because for the most part it seem like Ray was good for her. Ahmed is a decent actor but I did not buy there was a darkness in his character early on. I put it more down to writing and direction then Ahmed himself. Pinto was okay but she has been better. She has let to find the right vehicle since Slumdog Millionaire.Winterbottom's direction had a weird paradox, because of the need to cram so much that the film felt rushed but other times the film felt like it was dragging and stalling. The editing and pace was all over the place and there was no coincidence. He is much better then this.Amit Trivedi and Shigeru Umebayashi did provide a very pretty soundtrack and score, helping provide for the Indian feel the film was going for.Sadly Trishna was a disappointment and this is certainly not a repeat of Slumdog Millionaire.