User Reviews

I now remember how, after reading 700 pages of the book, that I went away depressed. Dickens really was kicking around the chancery laws in Victorian England and this puts them forth in their full glory. Of course, they exist today, when lawyers grow fat on litigation that takes years. Richard had to be on his death bed before he saw it. All the energy and opportunity is sucked right out of these people. Esther is the heroine, the consistent one, and she will be rewarded, but she has gone through a sort of hell. This was quite fun, with the great characters and the avarice and the posturing. Dickens wrote incredible books.

Charles Dickens did indeed write incredible books. Just love the complex characters and very meaty and intricate storytelling that all his books have. They may not be easy to get into straightaway or be immediately accessible depending on your general book taste, some are long, a lot of his storytelling requires a lot of attention and can be sprawling and the prose is wordy. 'Bleak House' is an example of all of that, some of it went over my head on first read which was a long time ago when young and foolish but it now stands as one of his classics.

This adaptation for me did brilliantly adapting 'Bleak House'. Thought so when it first aired way back in 2005 when still in school. Still think so now and actually find it even better now, thanks to more general appreciation of Dickens and a broader knowledge of his work. This is a wonderful final episode that ties things up beautifully, count me in as another person that found it very emotional (and yes depressing) on first watch and still find that the case now.

All the performances are never less than great once again in very richly developed roles. Anna Maxwell Martin is appealing as the book's protagonist and Denis Lawson's understated nobility is quite touching to see. Alun Armstrong can do no wrong, Burn Gorman continues convincingly portraying Guppy's more serious and not that bad side that materialised in the previous episode and Phil Davis is perfectly repellent as a character that you really do hate in the last two episodes of the adaptation in particular.

Writing is literate and thoughtfully and coherently adapted, without being too wordy. Considering that it is a talk-heavy book that is quite a feat. The storytelling is just as rich as what came before, despite it being more elegiac and slightly calmer than the more twisty and tense plotting of the previous installments. Some very moving moments here that left me incredibly moved.

Production values are as top notch as before. It continues to be beautifully shot and the handsome period detail is also evocative. The Victorian era look and atmosphere are nailed, as unforgiving as much as they are handsome being much more than just sumptuous costumes and interiors, one can truly tell that the living conditions back then were dangerous. The music doesn't overbear or feel over-used.

Bottom line, such a fabulous end to one of my favourite Dickens adaptations. 10/10