M: Little Dorrit is a BBC mini-series (14 half-hour shows) that aired in 2008. We recently checked it out from the library. Based on a serial novel by Dickens, published between 1855 and 1857, this series is beautifully done and quite enjoyable. In keeping with Dickens' work, Little Dorrit contains villains that are truly villainous (one of which is annoyingly so), and heroes that are truly admirable. The villains get their comeuppance, and the heroes are rewarded.
Little Dorrit is a girl born in debtor's prison. Arthor Clennam is a wealthy man whose family has a secret he is trying to learn, but he believes it has something to do with the Dorrits, so he sets out to help them. Little Dorrit is played by Claire Foy, and Arthor Clennam is played by Mathew McFaydye, (you may know him as Mr. Darcy.) These characters where compelling, and I found myself really rooting for them. The part of Mr. Dorrit, the gentleman turned debtor turned gentleman, was played masterfully by Tom Courtenay.
Definitely worth seeing, although some of the social commentary is a bit heavy handed at time. This one eeks in at 3 1/2 stars
V: We looked forward to watching this each night. It does take a few evenings. It was well-scripted and interesting. Dickens is always good for DRAMA. Melo-drama, almost. He is a harsh critic of capitalism run amok and shows that greed and ponzi schemes were rampant in 19th century England, too. Too. Interesting that the term "class" today has a positive ring. Many scriptures ran through my mind while watching this that I could see posted at the beginning of the novel, such as "He who exalts himself shall be abased,"" . . . the last shall be first," and all that "captive made free" and "reaping what you sow" business. Well acted. Many interesting characters. Fun Dickensian tangled web stuff. Along with a few things that are spelled out for you, Hawthorne style: the Bleeding Heart Yard; The Circumlocution Office, and allusions to the House of Clennam crumbling to ruins if "the secret" ever got out. You'll have to see the movie. We enjoyed it. 3 stars
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we put this in our netflix queue on your recommendation. it took me couple episodes to get into it. i think the cliffhangerness of this serial novel translated well to a miniseries. while you thought rigeau (the french guy) was annoying, i thought he was a kick in the pants riot. they had so much fun playing up all the melodrama of this story and the characters. some of my favorites: the marshalsea gatekeeper's son and his daydream soliloquies, mr. sparkler who thinks every girl has no nonsense about her, and as mentioned, the perforate you as soon as look at you french nutjob. oh wait, and the heart of gold rent collector masquerading as a monster. fun fun fun. we both really enjoyed it.
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