Posted on 01/03/2021 5:18:57 AM PST by C19fan
I have watched this wonderful adaptation of the Dickens novel free for Amazon Prime members many times. You know this is going to be an experience from the opening sequence; one of the most well done I have ever seen. This was going to top notch as the screenplay was written by the King of the Period Drama Andrew Davies. As I mentioned before in regards to Dickens, you go on an emotional roller coaster. The Amazon version is seven episodes with a total run length of around 6 hours. The extended length allows the wide plethora of secondary characters that add so much color to the story to be included. I will not get into the plot but there were a few things I noticed. First is the change in fashions. This adaptation starts in 1826. You do notice the women characters are wearing the high waistline Empire dresses that have been the style for several decades. The men are wearing coattails. But we run into the fabulously wealthy and Alpha predator of Society Mrs. Merdle and she is wearing the new fashions of the lower waistline and voluminous skirt that would come to dominate women's fashion during the Victorian era. When Miss Fanny Dorrit comes into money she throws away her Empire silhouette dresses for this new fashion. One sees the same with Mr. Arthur Clennam. He starts the story in coat tails but later in the story he starts to wear a frock coat with a smaller version of a top hat. One cannot claim the BBC did not skimp on the production budget. They did film on location in Venice. When my wife and younger daughter saw this they got excited as they visited Venice in 2019. I must admit I have a total man crush on Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Clennam. He looks so distinguished and mature as Mr. Clennam. The ladies still swoon over him as if he is still Mr. Darcy. Claire Foy plays Miss Amy Dorrit. Of course, she has become much better known for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown”. As I mentioned, I watched this with my wife and daughter and they were hooked starting with the first episode. Although I needed to pause the video as they would get confused with all the characters and their relationships with one another. My only complaint was the final reveal was a bit confusing. I had to google it just to clarify the whole relationship between the Clennams and the Dorrits. On my scale of 1 to 5 bonnets, I would give this 5 bonnets.
Great book. I always wonder if Dickens’ works can be brought to the screen without losing much of their flavor.
Haven’t seen this, but thanks, will have to try it.
Watched some of it - couldn’t get into it - but it was well done.
Just a suggestion - please divide your commentary into paragraphs. It would be so much easier to read. Thanks!
Good point. I did not notice as I copy and paste from WordPad.
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