Victorians! discussion

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 with anything involving 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.

The two principal actors are so good. Unfortunately my DVD copy is made with sinister grey shades. Is that how the series was actually made or is it just my copy?

I watched via Amazon Prime. I did not notice anything unusual.

Michael wrote: "I watched via Amazon Prime. I did not notice anything unusual."

Is it colorful then or is it dark and grey? I asume they made it in greyish shades on purpose.

Some of the more grittier scenes did have this darker tone as added emohasis.

Mr. Clennam and the older Dorrit brother (Frederik?) play interesting parts, following the main characters and making faces and comments at the weird things they see and hear along the way. It is like an extra perspective to the story. I wonder if Dickens included that in the book.

Claire Foy is stunning. Not that she is a beautiful person, but with her mimic and superb acting she turns out to be a fascinating beauty. It is the inner spirit that counts!

Monsieur Blandois is wonderful as the French villain with the thick accent. The actor is not at all French, but he is priceless.

Charlotte wrote: "Mr. Clennam and the older Dorrit brother (Frederik?) play interesting parts, following the main characters and making faces and comments at the weird things they see and hear along the way. It is l..."

I agree with you totally re Claire Foy. She is just a brilliant actress. She played Anne Boleyn in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall and was amazing, better than The Crown I think.

Frederick is played by James Fleet, a British actor I have admired for many years. Tom Courtney (Mr. Dorrit) is a long standing great of British theatre but James Fleet is somewhat underrated. He often plays comedy roles and was in the long running comedy series ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ with Dawn French.

Originally Little Dorrit was broadcast by the BBC in half hourly episodes on Sunday afternoons with a final feature length episode to finish. It remains one of my favourite adaptations. The atmosphere of Victorian squalor and the everyday life in Marshalsea debtors prison are two of the things that stand out for me. One of the most memorable scenes was when the house came crashing down. Overall one of the best.

I really enjoyed this miniseries when I watched it when it came out. It was sometime after the Bleak House miniseries, which was also great.
I too loved Claire Foy and followed her through Wolf Hall and, before that, in the update to Upstairs Downstairs where she played the bad little rich girl and sister to Keeley Hawes character. I thought it interesting as Keeley Hawes is the wife of actor Matthew Macfayden, Claire's costar in Little Dorritt.

I associate Tom Courtney with Albert Finney. Both started their careers as the lead "angry young man" in an Alan Sillitoe story: Finney in 1960's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Courtney in1962's The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.
Then over 20 years later,in 1983, Courtney and Finney appeared together as the two central characters in the movie of the play The Dresser. They were great.
I agree that James Fleet is a wonderful and ever-present actor, especially in the costume dramas. In the past 6 month, I've seen him in the TV series Belgravia and he plays King George in Bridgerton.