Bleak House (2005)

Andrew Davies isn't much of household name in the U.S., but he's the king of the BBC mini-series. His skillfully adapted scripts for Pride & Prejudice (the beloved Colin Firth version) and many, many more are peerless examples of classic novels done right--cunningly edited and shaped to let all the rich emotion and sharp intelligence spill over with zip and vigor. Bleak House is no exception; it's one of the best Dickens adaptations to date. The mini-series form allows Dickens' panoramic view, brimming with eccentric characters and complex turns of plot, to sprawl out without losing an iota of suspense or momentum. Two innocent young orphans (Patrick Kennedy and Carey Mulligan) are the potential heirs to a fortune, but their fates are snarled in a monumental legal battle known as Jarndyce and Jarndyce. But the heart of the story is another orphan, Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin), whose mysterious parentage proves to be intertwined with the fate of the Jarndyce wards and the aloof Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files). Dickens' story twines through an excoriating vision of the legal system to heartbreaking domestic drama to a murder investigation to near-Gothic horror, all broken into utterly delicious half-hour segments (after the hour-long opening episode). Martin is utterly beguiling, homely at one moment and luminous the next; Anderson's grippingly eerie and brittle performance will delight her fans. But to single out anyone seems absurd, because every character--from the vicious lawyer Tulkinghorn (Charles Dance, White Mischief) to the foppish parasite Skimpole (Nathaniel Parker, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries) to the simpering clerk Guppy (Burn Gorman)--is intricately drawn, all hitting a mesmerizing balance between caricature and stark emotional honesty. Bleak House demonstrates that humor, pathos, and social criticism can all be contained in one wonderfully entertaining package. --Bret Fetzer Amazon.com

The Matrix goes to lit class

The good news: first-rate casting and acting, breathtaking sets and costumes, capable screenplay adaptation. The bad: Dickens' potboiler is nearly spoiled by excesses of murky, claustrophobic tight shots, dizzying cuts, and an appalling soundtrack.

The first irritant came early: the schlocky ambient loop "music" of the titles. In short order, the perplexing cuts piled up, scored with rifle-shot noises resembling PowerPoint slide-transition effects on steroids.

Do we really need swelling, synthesized thumpa-thumpa to clue us that Lady Dedlock is feeling strong emotion? Isn't it enough that she blanches, then faints? Dickens does not describe outright his characters' interior states, nor, do I think, should his adaptors.

The irritating editing and the larded-on sound effects nearly eclipsed the serial's great strengths. But despite these objections, we were hooked by the suspense, the setting, and the acting. More restraint (lose the synthesizer!) would have served this effort far better than than do the styles chosen. We'll be looking around for other versions.
July 29, 2008

Bleak House

This is an excellent series. I love Gillian Anderson since the X-Files and everytime I see her in a movie I buy it, I happened to rent this series through Net Flix and I liked it so much that I ordered it through Amazon for my collection. July 26, 2008

not quite on target

This was a great production of a very complex work, but I think it missed the mark. The focus of this miniseries was on the relationships between the various characters, but in doing so the fierce condemnation of the English Civil Litigation system that I remember as the main focus of the book is lessened. The production comes across as a love story -- the many facets of love but that was not, in my mind, Dicken's main purpose in writting this book. Something in the original is lost, however, the series was compelling. My wife was enthralled and we watched nothing else for a week until we had gotten though all 15 episodes. July 23, 2008

Confusing at the beginning, but worth slogging through it

I was really confused for the first episode or two, but by the third episode I was hooked. Great casting, set design, acting, dialog.... July 5, 2008

If you are a Charles Dickens fan, you're in for a treat!

I originally checked out this series from our local library. My daughter and I fell in love with it. Not only did I have to have the set for my own, but I also purchased the book as well. It is very typical Charles Dickens (extremes in wealth, health and emotional well being). We sometimes lose count how many people end up dying. But, nevertheless, the series follows the book fairly closely and the characters are wonderfully cast. It takes several sittings to see the whole thing, but gives one something to look forward to as you work through it. And for some characters, the ending is a happy one, not so "bleak" as one might think! June 5, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...