Part
of the #beyondthecover Blogathon 2016
Let us take a moment
to bask in the glory of this adaptation. I am probably (definitely) biased, by
the fact that Charles Dickens’s Our
Mutual Friend is my favourite novel of all time, and by the fact that this TV
adaptation was my first introduction to that magnificent novel – but I genuinely
think it’s a beautiful, elegant, well-written mini-series, one that most lovers
of costume drama will enjoy. It’s six hours of Dickensian glory.
The novel Our Mutual Friend follows the fate of a fortune.
After the dead of Old Mr Harmon – a man who made his money through collecting
and sifting through piles of rubbish and dust from the streets of London – his fortune
is all set to go to his son. Until this very son goes missing on his journey
back to London, only for his body to be pulled out of the Thames a few days
later. The book follows the lives of the people affected by the Harmon will and
the Harmon murder, from the girl betrothed to young Mr Harmon, to the family of
the man who found the body, from the servants who inherit the fortune to the
lawyers investigating the case.
Words cannot describe
how much I love the book, and for the sake of all our sanity and time, I’ll get
onto the adaptation without any further ado. However, if you would like to see
me rant, rave and grin about Our Mutual
Friend for twenty minutes, you can watch the video about it on my Booktube channel.
There are so many
things I love about the 1998 TV adaptation of Our Mutual Friend. I love that
the writer Sandy Welch lifts so much dialogue straight from the book. I love
the subtly and beauty with which the love stories are put across. I love the
way the adaptation signifies movements from wealthy to deprived areas of London
with the light and shade of the cinematography. I love the soundtrack. I love
the costumes. I love that I’ve walked around the bits of Greenwich where
certain scenes are filmed.
And I love the actors
– Paul McGann is a perfect Eugene Wrayburn; Anna Friel has cemented my love for
her forever with her portrayal of Bella Wilfer; Steven Mackintosh makes a
brilliant Rokesmith, and Keeley Hawes, the queen of so many 1990s costume
dramas (and therefore the queen of my teenage years), makes a wonderful Lizzie
Hexam. Even in the more minor parts, we have the brilliant David Bradley as
Riderhood; Peter Vaughan and Pam Ferris as Mr and Mrs Boffin are truly
excellent; and Timothy Spall is so perfect as Mr Venus that watching the BBC’s
Dickensian now, in 2016, I find myself jarred – I just can’t get used to seeing
anyone but Timonthy Spall as Mr Venus. He is
Mr Venus to me. David Morrisey’s Bradley Headstone cemented him as one of
my favourite actors of all time and probably helped push Bradley Headstone to
be one of my favourite literary characters ever, for all that I wouldn’t want
to meet him on a dark and stormy night.
But most of all I
love how the 1998 TV adaptation captures the essence of the book. It not only
gets so many of the characters so well, but it finds that perfect balance so
important to Dickens. Many television adaptations of Dickens novels focus in on
the dark themes of his narratives and cut out all the humour and happiness,
something which always upsets me, because humour is so central to Dickens’s
novels. This adaptation doesn’t. It captures that mix of dark themes and romance,
of subtle humour and menacing threat. We can laugh at the Lammles, at Mr Venus
and Mr Wegg, at the strangeness of Bella Wilfer’s little sister Lavinia, and underneath
this we have the threat of Bradley Headstone and the darkness of the river.
It is by no means a
perfect adaptation. Like all screen adaptations it has to miss things out, and
it saddens me that the gentle and kind Mr Riah, Dickens’s apology for his anti-Semitic
presentation of Fagin years before, is basically cut, as is the hilarious
Fascination Flegby and the sweet and curious Georgiana Podsnap. And I still
have no idea why they decided to make Jenny Wren a woman in her thirties rather
than a teenage girl, therefore very much altering one of my all-time favourite
Dickensian characters.
Yet despite this, the
adaptation hangs together, and to me it really does capture the book. My love
of this adaptation is so thoroughly tied up with my love of the novel, and so
tied up with my discovery of nineteenth century literature, that I can’t help
but burst into smiles every time I seen even a clip of it. I’ve seen it well
over ten times (nearly as many times as I’ve read the novel), and each time I
notice more things, more clever details, more intricacies in the portrayal of
each and every character. It’s superbly acted, superbly adapted, and altogether
a joy to watch. I defy you not to shout and grin at the television as you
watch.
Greatest
strength: The
strength of the acting and script, and the tenderness with which the love
stories are portrayed.
Greatest
weakness: As I’ve
said, there are one of two artistic decisions I don’t understand – especially changing
the age of Jenny Wren.
Next week: something a little more
book-shaped…
You 've wetted my appetite for your Readalong which is starting in May but I think I'll wait until after it has been to look out this adaptation - talk about long term planning! Great review.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to hear! The adaptation is brilliant, if you can wait until after you've read the book :)
DeleteI wasn't even aware of this series, although I have fond memories (somewhat faded by this time) of a mini-series in the 70s. You have me aching to see this. Now I am torn between wanting to re-read the novel and see this program. What to do first is now a burning question.
ReplyDeleteOoo I haven't seen the miniseries from the 1970s, I'll have to look it up! But the 1998 adaptation is so, so good - I can't recommend it enough. And I reckon the solution is to watch the miniseries AND reread the novel :P
DeleteTotally agree that this is a fantastic adaptation - I've always been a Dickens nut and loved it, but remember colleagues who haven't read his books being equally enthralled. I also agree that the casting of Jenny Wren was puzzling and that it was a shame some characters were cut, but it was just so good overall.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - it seems a shame because Jenny Wren is one of my favourite characters, but I do simply love the adaptation - it's great :)
DeleteNow I can't wait for the readalong! Thank you so much for joining in with not one but two entries into our blogathon! We were very lucky to have you!
ReplyDeleteIt generally boils down to an issue of inclination and the cost per inch on these televisions is low when contrasted with different kinds available. HOPE RANCH APPLIANCE REPAIR
ReplyDelete