User Reviews

One thing that Dickens usually gave us. There were always innocent victims because he was commenting on the evils of 19th Century society, especially the upper crust. Once again, we see the selfishness and idiocy of Richard. Back to chancery with someone else's money--this time the myopic Ada. We are given a look at poor Jo and his awful situation. But mostly, with four episodes left, there are several ducks set up. They involve Mr. Tulkinghorn and his detractors. I assume that we will be looking at all of them now as they deal with the final scene of this episode.

'Bleak House' is a very long book, one of Dickens' longest, with a complicated story where there is a lot going on, and very meaty characters that are mostly complex. While not my favourite Dickens book, or one of my favourites, it is still truly great and reinforces why any work of Dickens is well worth reading. Dickens' work also deserves film and television adaptations that are worthy of them, this 'Bleak House' very much is one of those that is more than worthy of the source material.

This is another outstanding episode of one of the best Dickens television adaptations. All the previous parts of 'Bleak House' were remarkably consistent in how truly superb in quality they were. The intrigue, high quality production values, absorbing and increasingly complex storytelling and outstanding acting all still remain, and in no way has the adaptation run out of steam. Very much the opposite actually.

Cannot complain about the production values. It continues to be beautifully shot and the handsome period detail is also evocative. The Victorian era look and atmosphere are nailed, as unforgiving as much as they are handsome being much more than just sumptuous costumes and interiors, one can truly tell that the living conditions back then were dangerous. The music fits nicely.

The characters are still interesting, the complexity and important character traits still maintained but expanded as one expects at this late stage too. The dialogue is literate and thoughtful in an accessible way, without being too wordy which is a feat as Dickens is talk-heavy and it can be quite dense. All of the major subplots are interesting, they don't bore and never found myself losing focus, a great job is also done with showing the evils of society and how the innocent party are affected.

Richard and Ada's subplot sees them growing as characters, though Richard's selfishness makes one endear to him less, and it is very easy to connect with Jarndyce, his "dead" lines have impact. Felt both anger and tears in the outcome of Jo's fate and the episode ends on one of the most satisfying moments of the adaptation.

While all the performances are on the money, Denis Lawson's nobility really shines and Patrick Kennedy and Carey Mulligan both have grown vastly as Richard and Ada. Harry Eden is heart-wrenching as Jo.

Concluding, really wonderful. 10/10