Bleak House on BBC – A Review

England is blessed with such a vast and large literary heritage that their movie-makers don’t have to look very far for a good story. On the downside, there are several versions of the same classic, putting pressure on the creative team to bring their own interpretation to the story without insulting the memory of the writer.

The Plot

Now I have never read Bleak House, but the casting was enough reason to watch this BBC  2005 production. Bleak House is considered to be one of Dickens‘ finest works; with a large set of characters and multiple subplots, all linked together. A satire on the slow-moving judicial processes of those times, the main theme of the book is about a monumental case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce and how it impacts the lives of everyone involved.

The main protagonist of this series is Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell), a young sensible woman, an orphan, unwanted by this world. She has been engaged by Mr. John Jarndyce (Denis Lawson) to be a companion to Ada Clare (Carey Mulligan). Ada Clare and Richard Carstone (Patrick Kennedy) are the young wards of Mr. Jarndyce and are believed to be the main beneficiaries of the will under contest as part of Jarndyce and Jarndyce.

Lady Dedlock in Bleak House. Image owned by BBC

Ada, Esther, and Richard are all under the guardianship of Mr. John Jarndyce and live at the “Bleak House”. Esther is the most prudent and sensible of the three, Ada is the woman-child beloved by everyone for her beauty and Richard is the young and the restless man besotted with her, determined to make nothing of his own life, but pinning all his dreams and hopes on the case.
Every Dickens novel has a freeloader, and Mr. Skimpole (Nathaniel Parker) is Bleak House’s. But the resident evil is definitely Mr. Tulkinghon (Charles Dance), who is a lawyer (isn’t that surprise!). Heartless, opportunistic, and manipulative, he uses his knowledge to twist people to his will.
Another interesting character is Mr. Guppy (Burn Gorman), an intern at the law firm, who is quite instrumental in propelling the whole story forward. He also brings a bit of humor to this otherwise “bleak” narrative.
There is a large cast of characters, who directly or symbolically help portray everything that is wrong with the English Chancery. One character that will be noticed above the rest is that of Ms. Flite (Pauline Collins) with her caged birds that she will release on the day of the judgment.
Then there is Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson), another minor beneficiary in the will. Haughty and arrogant, she is not exactly popular. But is her demeanor a mask for the secret that she harbors?
Bleak House has all of Dickens’s trademarks – cold, cruel London streets, interesting and slightly larger-than-life characters, family secrets, a ghost story, and razor-sharp wit.

Excellent Production Quality

Andrew Davies’s screenplay adaptation retains all the essence and I could still tell without having read the novel. Dickens just spills from each scene.
The cast of this production was simply brilliant. Anne Martin as Esther is likable and believable with an extremely expressive face, and Gillian Anderson is brilliant as Lady Dedlock ( I couldn’t find the Scully in her!).
The art direction is satisfying. The mood of the series is set up by the cold and squalor of London. One thing that I found annoying was the rapid cuts to a location accompanied by this weird “whoosh” sound making one think that we are watching a horror movie instead of a period drama.
Bleak House is a commentary on the inefficient judicial system of England at the turn of the century – where people are victims of the system that is meant to serve the aristocrats, and literally go mad or die waiting for justice. This is dramatized in the story of Gridly, Carstone, and Jo. The other theme of the book deals with the divisive class system in England where station is everything and how one must keep up appearances.

Verdict

I highly recommended this if you are in the mood for period television.

Watch Bleak House Online

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