Both this adaptation and the one from 1976 do justice to Dickens' final novel, and are truly excellent on their own. Talking about preferences though, that is a very hard one as both are so good, for now from this viewer they're about equal in quality with this one getting the slight edge. The book is a mammoth one, very complex with lots of story lines, emotions and characters, a really great piece of literature if like a lot of Charles Dickens difficult to adapt. Excellent is not enough to describe this adaptation as it is one of the best Dickens adaptations I've seen and almost certainly ever been too. Not just that, but also one of the best period dramas of the past 25-30 years or so.
It is a very opulent production, beautifully shot and from the grim streets to the rich aristocracy and waterfront the period detail is rich and stunning to watch. It is not quite as atmospheric as the earlier adaptation(though the scene with Bradley Headstone's stalking of Eugene through the city at night is a very atmospheric, suspenseful and quite haunting scene), but the contrast of the poor and rich is more convincingly done here(just look at the teeth of the poor for example). The haunting music score is noteworthy as well, and the dialogue is sophisticated, funny, whimsical, thoughtful and foreboding and mostly Dickenesian flavour. A couple of parts sound a little too simplified though, and the Weal and Hammer Pie scene was agreed better done in the earlier adaptation, that though is nowhere near enough to hinder anything and to be warranted as a flaw.
Our Mutual Friend(1998) does a terrific job adapting such a complex and layered story, again like most Dickens dramatisations it's long at six hours but always engrossing and never dull. The pacing is beautifully measured, and perhaps more accessible than the 1976 version, which was much more deliberate, effectively so from personal perspective. Though a lot of 1970s-80s Dickens-adapted serials have been criticised for being tedious, a criticism that I myself don't share. The telling of it is very suspenseful with hope at the end, some nice comic moments, whimsy and heart-breaking tragedy complete with an evocative atmosphere and one of the most harrowing suicide scenes you'll ever see. Even with omissions it's also fairly faithful and maintains the spirit of Dickens' writing.
The acting is exceptional all round, and helped by the smart direction and the rich, detailed way the characters are handled. Particularly good are Steven Mackintosh and David Morissey, Mackintosh's performance is restrained, nuanced and assertive- much more convincing age-wise than the Rokesmith in the earlier adaptation- while Morrissey isn't just chilling and tormented but brings tremendous depth to the besotted schoolteacher who descends into obsessive madness. Paul McGann has some great lines, a few among the best of the entire adaptation, and manages to be amusing and dashing. Keeley Hawes is positively luminous and plays Lizzie with great charm and dignity, Lesley Dunlop's interpretation is a little more mature but Hawes is hardly fresh-out-of-finishing-school-type as described in a positive Amazon review of the 1976 adaptation.
Anna Friel is very beautiful as well as witty and charming, Bella is not the most pleasant of characters but Friel brings that across while also making her attractive too. Timothy Spall is humble and appealingly oddball and Peter Vaughan(a sinister Mr Tulkinghorn in the superb 1985 adaptation of Bleak House) and Pam Ferris play the Boffins with great character and gusto. Kenneth Cranham plays Silas Wegg with real ferocity with touches of humour, while David Bradley's Riderhood is cool and calculating and Margaret Tyzack is a formidable presence. Overall, outstanding and among the best Dickens adaptations and period dramas there's been in the past 25-30 years. 10/10 Bethany Cox
It is a very opulent production, beautifully shot and from the grim streets to the rich aristocracy and waterfront the period detail is rich and stunning to watch. It is not quite as atmospheric as the earlier adaptation(though the scene with Bradley Headstone's stalking of Eugene through the city at night is a very atmospheric, suspenseful and quite haunting scene), but the contrast of the poor and rich is more convincingly done here(just look at the teeth of the poor for example). The haunting music score is noteworthy as well, and the dialogue is sophisticated, funny, whimsical, thoughtful and foreboding and mostly Dickenesian flavour. A couple of parts sound a little too simplified though, and the Weal and Hammer Pie scene was agreed better done in the earlier adaptation, that though is nowhere near enough to hinder anything and to be warranted as a flaw.
Our Mutual Friend(1998) does a terrific job adapting such a complex and layered story, again like most Dickens dramatisations it's long at six hours but always engrossing and never dull. The pacing is beautifully measured, and perhaps more accessible than the 1976 version, which was much more deliberate, effectively so from personal perspective. Though a lot of 1970s-80s Dickens-adapted serials have been criticised for being tedious, a criticism that I myself don't share. The telling of it is very suspenseful with hope at the end, some nice comic moments, whimsy and heart-breaking tragedy complete with an evocative atmosphere and one of the most harrowing suicide scenes you'll ever see. Even with omissions it's also fairly faithful and maintains the spirit of Dickens' writing.
The acting is exceptional all round, and helped by the smart direction and the rich, detailed way the characters are handled. Particularly good are Steven Mackintosh and David Morissey, Mackintosh's performance is restrained, nuanced and assertive- much more convincing age-wise than the Rokesmith in the earlier adaptation- while Morrissey isn't just chilling and tormented but brings tremendous depth to the besotted schoolteacher who descends into obsessive madness. Paul McGann has some great lines, a few among the best of the entire adaptation, and manages to be amusing and dashing. Keeley Hawes is positively luminous and plays Lizzie with great charm and dignity, Lesley Dunlop's interpretation is a little more mature but Hawes is hardly fresh-out-of-finishing-school-type as described in a positive Amazon review of the 1976 adaptation.
Anna Friel is very beautiful as well as witty and charming, Bella is not the most pleasant of characters but Friel brings that across while also making her attractive too. Timothy Spall is humble and appealingly oddball and Peter Vaughan(a sinister Mr Tulkinghorn in the superb 1985 adaptation of Bleak House) and Pam Ferris play the Boffins with great character and gusto. Kenneth Cranham plays Silas Wegg with real ferocity with touches of humour, while David Bradley's Riderhood is cool and calculating and Margaret Tyzack is a formidable presence. Overall, outstanding and among the best Dickens adaptations and period dramas there's been in the past 25-30 years. 10/10 Bethany Cox