Extraordinary

robertconnor

Sheer brilliance at work here as Dickens' multi-stranded plot is woven into a magical TV production. Bleak House works on every single level, and certainly left this viewer alternately gripped or moved, as Davies rolls out the parallel stories of the Jarndyce wards and their companion Esther Summerson, and the slow, horrible destruction wrought on Honoria Deadlock.

Casting is absolute perfection, right down to the minor characters, and Chadwick, White and Rhode James have enabled the most delicious characterisations from every player. Maxwell Martin is delightful as Esther, making her totally believable and real - there isn't a trace of 'acting' in sight, so luminous and real is she. As Honoria Deadlock, Anderson is astonishing - post-X-Files, she has once again proved herself as one of the most versatile female actors around (reference also The House of Mirth and The Mighty Celt). Her ability to convey such intense emotions - grief, panic, terror - hidden behind a composed countenance is sublime. However, singling these two out in no way lessens the performances from other cast members - each in turn creates an incredibly believable character.

So one of the BBC triumphs of the decade, and unmissable in every respect!

score 10/10

robertconnor 25 April 2007

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1643696/