The Mystery and Suspence of Dickens

It isn't often that my husband and I spend every night in a given week watching television. But this week we did. Each night we turned on our gas fireplace, lit a couple of candles, and fed our latest addiction: Bleak House.

In September, both Girl Talk and Danielle recommended the 2005 BBC mini-series. I immediately put it on hold at our local library. Because of its popularity, we were finally able to check it out last week. And, because it is in such demand, we were only able to keep it for a week before we had to return it for the next person in line.

Bleak House is based on the Charles Dickens' novel by the same name. The drama is a satire on the 19th century British legal system. Yet for viewers the true meat of the DVD series is not in a legal battle, but in the mystery involving Lady Deadlock and a stack of love letters.

The series pairs up a classic story with contemporary cinematography. Transitional shots are quick and darting, while a fair number of shots within scenes are partially obscured by some object in the forefront, such as a branch from a tree. This effect gives some of the scenes a feeling of voyeurism; like the audience is quietly, secretly watching the story unfold. While the style works overall, after multiple episodes, the obscuring gets a bit old.

The story is confusing for the first two or three episodes because there are several threads developing simultaneous and a huge cast of characters. My husband wasn't sure what was going on at first, but I told him to hang on, that the numerous storylines were puzzle pieces that would soon began to fit together. As they did, we found ourselves hooked.

As far as casting goes, it's superb. While the only actors I recognized were Gillian Anderson (known for her role on X-Files) and Carey Mulligan (from 2005 film version of Pride and Prejudice), I thought each actor in the series did a remarkable job. Some of my favorites include Anderson as Lady Deadlock, Burn Gorman as Mr. Guppy, Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther Summerson, and Hugo Spear as Sergeant George.

Each episode builds in suspense until the last two. Episodes 14 and 15 are spent wrapping up the story. Honestly, after all the mystery and suspense, I found the ending to be somewhat of a let down.

For any of you who love classics and mystery, Bleak House is a must. It's not only well produced, directed, and acted, but it's a story viewers can learn from. It's a tale that illustrates well the danger of secret sin, the law of sowing and reaping, and the powerful influence and impact a honorable woman such as Esther Summerson can have on those around her.