Miedzy Hardym a Sterne’em. Realizm i jego przekroczenie w filmach Michaela Winterbottoma

Seeking the key to the heterogeneous style of Michael Winterbottom, Kruk grounds his argument on the analysis of Winterbottom’s film adaptations of English literature classics: Thomas Hardy and Laurence Sterne. The way Winterbottom moves between these two literary traditions reflects his changing attitude to realism. The realistic convention – both in costume dramas based on Hardy, and in films dealing with the „here and now”, reveals the processes ruling the world and permits one to take a stance in regards to political plans for its improvement. Whereas postmodern exposure of the cracks in the joints in realistic performances in films inspired by narrative techniques employed by Laurence Sterne (24 Hour party people, Tristram shandy) signals the shift on Winterbottom’s work towards comedy and sur-fiction.