Matthias Schoenaerts and Carey Mulligan in Far From the Madding Crowd (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Wow, Carey Mulligan, why are you making those faces at the camera? The actress plays a spirited country lass struggling to choose among three men in her life in this new take on Thomas Hardy’s 1874 novel, and Mulligan hurls herself at the part like a madcap Anne of Green Gables channeling Charlie Chaplin. Who goaded this usually subtle performer into lens-mugging, eye-twinkling, and dimple-flexing within an inch of her life?

Fingers must be pointed at director Thomas Vinterberg. The filmmaker drew attention in 1998 with the Dogma-influenced The Celebration. After a number of lesser-known projects, he here tries his hand at a period piece. It is admittedly tough to adapt a sprawling Victorian novel, this one grave with forbearance and a sense of destiny, to entertain today’s audiences. But that’s no excuse for turning it into something broad, anachronistic, and borderline silly, starting with the performance of the leading lady.

Far from the Madding Crowd follows the fates of Bathsheba Everdene, an independent young Englishwoman and heiress to a farm, and the men who vie to win her heart: stolid, decent countryman Gabriel Oak (Matthias Schoenaerts) ; a wealthy older landowner, William Boldwood (Michael Sheen); and Sergeant Frank Troy (Tom Sturridge), who hides a shifty heart under his dashing good looks. Tragedy, deception, and misunderstanding dog the characters until Bathsheba finally makes the right choice. As we ride the waves of fortune with this crew, the film’s mood should be suspenseful, but somehow isn’t. Terrible unfolding events make little impact. Why?

Well, a lot of reasons. Director Vinterberg hurries scenes along so that they don’t have much weight. Shifts in mood feel choppy. A looming countryside with the power to launch harsh forces against those who subsist on it looks benign, shot as a series of cheery panoramas lit up with lens flares. As a result, mystery and grandeur have been leached from the atmosphere.

Iffy casting choices undermine emotional bonds between the characters as well. Hunky Schoenaerts fits the bill for Gabriel Oak with his big frame and low-key stare, but he lacks fire and is unable to communicate the inner intelligence that allows Oak to see through the tempestuous Bathsheba. Sturridge, as faithless Troy, gives himself away immediately as a cad and weakling. However, it is a pleasure to see Sheen cut loose from smooth Tony Blair types to play the aloof yet vulnerable Boldwood, at least until the script has him mooning over Miss Everdene in ways that a proper Victorian gentleman would find outlandish in the 1870s.

Which leads us to another problem: awkward shifts between 1874 and 2015. Characters from another age may be a challenge for contemporary audiences to relate to, but Vinterberg overcompensates with snippets of dialogue that bare his players’ hearts in modern emo-speak: “Gabriel, I’ve been a fool.” “I’ve made a terrible mistake.” “I’d hate to be some man’s property.” The film also caters to today’s you-go-girl feminism with a scene of Bathsheba sitting down with her new farm staff like Carly Fiorina in a bustle, pertly hiring, firing, and making motivational speeches—another jarring note in a movie full of them.

It may seem uncharitable to bash a well-meaning film that ends on an uplifting note. Yet when the urge arises to go easier on Far from the Madding Crowd, I just summon up the sight of Mulligan laughing gaily, sighing contritely, and tossing her head in high dudgeon. Then I feel just fine.