Director Michael Winterbottom turns once more to Thomas Hardy - following Jude (1996) and The Claim (2000) - in this Bollywood makeover of Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Audaciously combining the novel's twin suitors into a single character and relocating its fascination with the corrosive nature of Victorian-era class distinction to present-day India, Winterbottom succeeds in being faithful to the spirit of Hardy while presenting a steamy melodrama and an authentic vision of a rapidly changing globalised society. The contrast between the romantic Rajasthani opening and the bleak Mumbai finale couldn't be greater. But, having made wealthy hotelier Riz Ahmed seem such a decent fellow in offering country girl Freida Pinto a job to feed her family, Winterbottom struggles with his later transformation into a cad deserving of his fate. However, with Shigeru Umebayashi's score and Amit Trivedi's songs proving as atmospheric as the ravishing cinematography, this is never less than compelling.