Bleak House
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Sir Leicester Dedlock and his wife Lady Honoria live on his estate at Chesney Wold. Unknown to Sir Leicester, Lady Dedlock had a lover, Captain Hawdon, before she married and had a daughter by him. Lady Dedlock believes her daughter is dead.
The daughter, Esther, is in fact alive and being raised by Miss Barbary, Lady Dedlock's sister. Esther does not know Miss Barbary is her aunt. After Miss Barbary dies, John Jarndyce becomes Esther's guardian and assigns the Chancery lawyer "Conversation" Kenge to take charge of her future. After attending school for six years, Esther moves in with him at Bleak House.
Jarndyce simultaneously assumes custody of two other wards, Richard Carstone and Ada Clare (who are both his and one another's distant cousins). They are beneficiaries in one of the wills at issue in Jarndyce and Jarndyce; their guardian is a beneficiary under another will, and the two wills conflict. Richard and Ada soon fall in love, but though Mr Jarndyce does not oppose the match, he stipulates that Richard must first choose a profession. Richard first tries a career in medicine, and Esther meets Allan Woodcourt, a physician, at the house of Richard's tutor. When Richard mentions the prospect of gaining from the resolution of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, John Jarndyce beseeches him never to put faith in what he calls "the family curse".
Meanwhile, Lady Dedlock is also a beneficiary under one of the wills. Early in the book, while listening to the reading of an affidavit by the family solicitor, Mr Tulkinghorn, she recognises the handwriting on the copy. The sight affects her so much she almost faints, which Tulkinghorn notices and investigates. He traces the copyist, a pauper known only as "Nemo," in London. Nemo has recently died, and the only person to identify him is a street-sweeper, a poor homeless boy named Jo, who lives in a particularly grim and poverty-stricken part of the city known as Tom-All-Alone's.
Lady Dedlock is also investigating, disguised as her maid, Mademoiselle Hortense. Lady Dedlock pays Jo to take her to Nemo's grave. Meanwhile, Tulkinghorn is concerned Lady Dedlock's secret could threaten the interests of Sir Leicester and watches her constantly, even enlisting her maid to spy on her. He also enlists Inspector Bucket to run Jo out of town, to eliminate any loose ends that might connect Nemo to the Dedlocks.
Esther sees Lady Dedlock at church and talks with her later at Chesney Wold – though neither woman recognises their connection. Later, Lady Dedlock does discover that Esther is her child. However, Esther has become sick (possibly with smallpox, since it permanently disfigures her) after nursing the homeless boy Jo. Lady Dedlock waits until Esther has recovered before telling her the truth. Though Esther and Lady Dedlock are happy to be reunited, Lady Dedlock tells Esther they must never acknowledge their connection again.
Upon her recovery, Esther finds that Richard, having failed at several professions, has disobeyed his guardian and is trying to push Jarndyce and Jarndyce to conclusion in his and Ada's favour. In the process, Richard loses all his money and declines in health. He and Ada have secretly married, and Ada is pregnant. Esther has her own romance when Mr Woodcourt returns to England, having survived a shipwreck, and continues to seek her company despite her disfigurement. Unfortunately, Esther has already agreed to marry her guardian, John Jarndyce.
Hortense and Tulkinghorn discover the truth about Lady Dedlock's past. After a confrontation with Tulkinghorn, Lady Dedlock flees her home, leaving a note apologising for her conduct. Tulkinghorn dismisses Hortense, who is no longer of any use to him. Feeling abandoned and betrayed, Hortense kills Tulkinghorn and seeks to frame Lady Dedlock for his murder. Sir Leicester, discovering his lawyer's death and his wife's flight, suffers a catastrophic stroke, but he manages to communicate that he forgives his wife and wants her to return.
Inspector Bucket, who has previously investigated several matters related to Jarndyce and Jarndyce, accepts Sir Leicester's commission to find Lady Dedlock. At first he suspects Lady Dedlock of the murder but is able to clear her of suspicion after discovering Hortense's guilt, and he requests Esther's help to find her. Lady Dedlock has no way to know of her husband's forgiveness or that she has been cleared of suspicion, and she wanders the country in cold weather before dying at the cemetery of her former lover, Captain Hawdon (Nemo). Esther and Bucket find her there.
Progress in Jarndyce and Jarndyce seems to take a turn for the better when a later will is found, which revokes all previous wills and leaves the bulk of the estate to Richard and Ada. Meanwhile, John Jarndyce cancels his engagement to Esther, who becomes engaged to Mr Woodcourt. They go to Chancery to find Richard. On their arrival, they learn that the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce is finally over, but the costs of litigation have entirely consumed the estate. Richard collapses, and Mr Woodcourt diagnoses him as being in the last stages of tuberculosis. Richard apologises to John Jarndyce and dies. Jarndyce takes in Ada and her child, a boy whom she names Richard. Esther and Woodcourt marry and live in a Yorkshire house which Jarndyce gives to them. The couple later raise two daughters.
Many of the novel's subplots focus on minor characters. One such subplot is the hard life and happy, though difficult, marriage of Caddy Jellyby and Prince Turveydrop. Another plot focuses on George Rouncewell's rediscovery of his family, and his reunion with his mother and brother.

Review: Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock is maybe a bit too icy (frozen solid?), but that's what the role calls for, I suppose.Another excellent feature is the period atmosphere.
Half-way through this version of Charles Dickens' weighty novel seems a good time to comment on it.
The BBC have taken the view that, as Bleak House was originally presented to its reading public in short magazine instalments, it is a good idea to present it in half-hour segments twice a week in the soap opera tradition.Andrew Davies, who has adapted other books before such as Pride and Prejudice and House of Cards, has done an excellent job here - tweaking and inventing as you must to make television drama work, but without losing the context of the piece.Despite the jarring camera work and bitty scenes, there are some outstanding performances here - Charles Dance as the scheming lawyer Tulkinghorn; Denis Lawson as John Jarndyce, attracted to his ward Esther despite having paid for her upkeep since she was a child; Pauline Collins as Miss Flyte, ever twittering on alongside her caged birds about 'the day of judgement'; Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock, who tries to hide her mysterious secret; Johnny Vegas, who fits the character of drunken landlord Krook like a glove; and many others.There are also witty and perceptive cameos from the likes of Richard Griffiths, Matthew Kelly, and Ian Richardson.I would have preferred to see hour-long episodes but that is only a small quibble (the other would be the invention of a character - Clamb - who seems to serve no useful purpose).
The directing is excellent, producing uniformly good performances from the actors - even from the likes of Johnny Vegas - and particularly from Charles Dance as Tulkinghorn and from the actress playing Esther Summerson (a tiresomely one-dimensional character in the book).
Gillian Anderson is luminous as Lady Dedlock in this adaptation of Dickens's Bleak House.
I can't remember the last British costume drama I saw which showcased as much acting talent as this, whether it is the dastardly lawyer played by Charles Dance or the slatternly mother who is Lisa Tarbuck; watch out especially for Pauline Collins (a known talent) and Johnny Vegas (a revelation) who are both really rather good.
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.
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!.
I disagree, though, with those who feel that the wonderful actress who plays Esther Summerson rescues "a tiresomely one-dimensional character in the book" - rather, I think she awesomely expresses what Dickens meant us to understand her to be, in the book.
Dickens creates a fascinating world of characters in Bleak House and Davies does an excellent job of capturing the essence of those characters while bringing the production into the realm of 21st Century viewing.
The camera work with the quick changes was distracting at times but sometimes accentuated the fast pace of this drama or emphasised plot points.Watching for well known faces was fun but didn't detract anything from the performances of this superb cast.
Anna Maxwell Martin gave a wonderful performance as Esther; outwardly stronger than in the book but this focused the viewer on Esther's strength of character, her compassion, common sense, loyalty and love.
Lawson's Jarndyce was touching and gentle; Burn Gorman's Guppy a revelation and Charles Dance was eerily scaring and deliciously malicious.Gillian Anderson also demonstrated her extreme talents as the aloof, lonely, bored, haughty yet vulnerable Lady Dedlock.
We've seen enough already to suggest that it's going to be full of gems And Anna Maxwell Martin, almost a TV débutante, may just be about to turn in one of the top central performances of recent times.Set your videos and PVRs and don't miss a minute.It'll be better than Rome.(Update) We're halfway through and it's brilliant.
Gillian Anderson is brilliant, Charles Dance is memorable, Carey Mulligan, Pauline Collins and Johnny Vegas are outstanding, but Anna Maxwell Martin and Burn Gorman are just out of this world.
At the forthcoming request for Charter renewal by the BBC, the Governors could do no better than to sit MPs comfortably on their green benches and screen the entirety of Andrew Davies' magisterial adaptation of Dickens' Bleak House.A TV series that can afford to throw away a consummate actress like Sheila Hancock as a giggling ninny with almost no dialogue who occupies just seconds of screen time must, by definition, be supremely confident in its ability to entertain.
Stalwart of epic dramas like The Jewel in the Crown, Charles Dance is hypnotically dreadful as the wicked Tulkinghorn, glowering and scheming with real menace, and without once resorting to camp.For me though, the performance of the series (and that is saying something) is Gillian Anderson's Lady Dedlock.
Shot in an eerily bleak blue light, and seeming always on the verge of cracking like a porcelain vase, she is nothing short of mesmerising.In short, the finest TV adaptation of a Dickens novel ever made and another triumph for Andrew Davies and the BBC..
This has got to be one of the most intriguing dramas the bbc might have ever done.They set the tone with the brilliant funky ads with ladytrons witching hour setting the tone with its mysterious base pumping rhythm.This is everything a popular drama should be.Relevant,beautiful, fun,informative and clever.Anyone whos ever said Andrew Davies is unoriginal obviously hasn't read the books he bases his adaptations on and I am so happy Anna Maxwell Martin(Esther summerson) is finally receiving the credit she deserves.I saw her a few years ago in the dark materials trilogy and have followed her career since then.
Having never read "Bleak House" this series as encouraged me to now read the Dickens novel.My only criticism, is that I wish there were more episodes!
Love, which I think is the centrifugal element of Dickens from which ALL other social ills flow, has been, through no real fault of her own, denied Lady Dedlock in her life.
Bleak House is certainly one of the best adaptions of Dickens brought to the TV screens.
An truly excellent cast including perhaps surprisingly Gillian Anderson (The X Files) who impresses as the cool Lady Dedlock, Charles Dance as the sinister Tulkinghorn, Denis Lawson as kindly John Jarndyce, Alun Amstrong as Bucket, Nathaniel Parker as Skimpole, Pauline Collins as Miss Flute, Burn Gorman as poor Guppy, and particularly Philip Davis as the dreadful Smallweed, all wonderful Dickensian characters.
This version of 'Bleak House' is simply one of the best films ever made.It is the best adaptation of any Dickens work that I can remember, going go back to the wonderful 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Great Expectations' of the Golden Age of Hollywood.
I have a big hair up my butt about overuse of hand-held cameras and this production is particularly guilty of this, given that the look of the sets, actors, and period would be wonderful were it not spoiled by being filmed almost 100% by someone standing there with a hand-held, wavering, moving, too close in, no scene composition, good editing not a factor.
A very effective television adaption of Dickens dark "Bleak House"..
But it is the writing and the acting, when put together, that enabled "Bleak House" to rise way above most other television and screen work.
Special mention must be given to Charles Dance (Mr. Tulkington), Philip Davis (Smallweed), Burn Gorman (Guppy) and Nathaniel Parker (Skimpole) for assembling into one of the greatest most repugnant, morally reprehensible group of humans that ever populated a single television or movie production.
Excellent music as well.Another high point was the acting, with outstanding performances from Gillian Anderson as Lady Deadlock, Charles Dance as Tulkinghorn as Dennis Lawson as Jarndyce.
They have provided the space for some great characterizations, from the saintly Esther Summerson (Anna Maxwell Martin) to the mendacious Tulkinghorne (Charles Dance), from the good and generous John Jarndice to the extremely nasty Smallweed (Phil Davis).Dickens, though great at creating memorable characters, was not very good at explaining them.
But Dennis Lawson and Charles Dance are also great, and the supporting cast is full of actors who get Dickens' tone just right; a touch larger and more colorful than life, but always real enough to believe in, care about, be frightened by or pity.
In the end I decided to watch Bleak House with my eyes closed, which heightened my appreciation of the language, characterization and story far more than the theatrical gimmickry that the production employed..
The film as a whole, and Esther Summerson in particular, should make you a better person if you watch and give it your close attention.Finally, since most people, understandably, won't want to read the novel because they know so many of the important plot developments, I would like to recommend enthusiastically another great Dickens' novel, Little Dorrit--this is another underread, yet great, novel with many characters and plot lines and twists etc.
Although literary analysts often point to Great Expectations as Dickens' greatest novel, I strongly disagree and would say Little Dorrit is his best with Bleak House a close second.
I know Gillian Anderson spent some of her childhood in England, but even so I found her English accent a tad contrived, but apart from that she played the part brilliantly throughout.I've always been a fan of Andrew Davies's work, and this adaptation is no exception to his excellence.
This movie is a superb adaptation of the book that many believe is Dickens' best novel.The plot follows the fortunes of a young woman, Esther Summerson, after she arrives a a country mansion called Bleak House.
And, intimately involved in everything is the lawyer Mr. Tulkinghorn, played by Charles Dance.The film succeeds because of the strength of the novel, the strength of the adaptation, the strength of the BBC production values, and the strength of the minor characters.However, what lifts this movie above the basic excellence of other BBC adaptations is the extraordinary acting of Dance and Anderson.
It just goes to show, if you pick the right cast and a decent (you don't need a great one with C.D.'s books) script writer, you cannot fail.Anna M.M. is one of the best actors on the planet - as she has shown many times since Bleak House.
This adaptation is outstanding - for me, it is on a par with the BBC's Pride and Prejudice (which has to be one of the best TV adaptations of all time), albeit a much darker and sadder tale.I hadn't read the book and didn't know what to expect, but from the first episode was completely addicted and had to stop myself from watching all 15 episodes on one go.Gillian Anderson is perfect as the brittle Honoria - her performance brought a tear to my eye on many occasions.
Charles Dance is also particularly compelling, as is Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther and Denis Lawson as Jarndyce.I also loved the theme music.It really does feel so right to be watching this excellent drama at this cold and dark time of year.
Nearly all aspects of the production of 'Bleak House' (2005) are first rate - direction, casting, sets and costumes, cinematography, acting, organization and pacing of the storyline.
Once Dickens introduces a character - or any detail - it sticks and builds - like a snowball rolling downhill and looming to boulder size.This is a mystery wrapped up in a love story wrapped up in a portrait of England circa 1820's.Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Lady Dedlock is minimalist and very effective; she displays a surgeon's skill with words, timing, pauses, emphasis, gestures, letting a glance, the crumble of her shoulders, and the shadows of her past tell the story.I bought the boxed set and watch it every now and then.
Worthy of special note is the work of 'Charles Dance' as the grim Mr Tulkinghorn, 'Denis Lawson' (caught our eye in the old 'Local Hero' flick) as the affable Mr Jarndyce, 'Gillian Anderson' as the tragic Lady Dedlock, and 'Philip Davis' as the grotesque, psychopathic moneylender, Mr Smallweed.In addition to the above, the sound-editing and camera angles help create the dark under-currents and suspense in this presentation of the brilliant Dickens novel, outlining the frustration of the old Chauncery court system which plagued the Brits for decades.'Alun Armstrong' (of 'New Tricks' fame) also shows his versatility as a detective from another era (I believe the first true 'detective' in English literature).
Having watched a lot of BBC productions on cable lately, these practices seemed like an attempt to jump on the current film technique bandwagon (which I hope will soon disintegrate).So many of the cast members were outstanding: Jarndyce, the judge, Smallweed, Tulkinghorn, Guppy and his mother, Sgt. George, Pauline Collins' Miss Flyte, the dancemaster's father, and Alun Armstrong's detective (remember him as the schoolmaster in Nickelby?).
(and where did the radio version and the book go right?) In part the adaptation - Davies' dialogue sometimes stands out like a sore thumb - sometimes as needless padding, sometimes as not-Dickens and sometimes distinctly not-Victorian.
This adaption of Charles Dicken's Bleak House is the best.
The poor truly lived wretched lives, which Dickens portrays so well in his novels.Anyone who enjoys British period pieces will love "Bleak House.".
"Bleak House" happens to be my favourite Dickens novel, and I would have thought it impossible to make a truly successful film of this vast work on the power of goodness in a rotten world.
Anna Maxwell shines above all others as Esther Summerson, but hard on her heels are Charles Dance who avoids making an out-and-out villain of Tulkinghorn, Burn Gorman's wonderfully touching Guppy (extra credit to him for hitting the mark in a role that begs to be grotesquely overacted) and Harry Eden's Jo. But then again, there's not a false note in this entire production.
450+ minutes of a film is a long time to have your breath taken away but that's what happened when I first watched this magnificent adaptation of my favorite Dickens novel 'Bleak House.'I always liked the earlier version starring Denham Elliot, Diana Rigg and Peter Vaughan, but this new version, adapted by Andrew Davies is superlative to the former in every way.
I'm not always a fan of Davie's work but Bleak House is a masterpiece of screen adaptation, even better than his Moll Flanders, which has long been one of my old standbys for a rainy evening or two.Anna Maxwell Martin looks unprepossessing with her whey-face and funny lisp, but quickly her strength and intelligence waylay any doubts as to her being nigh-perfect as Esther Sommerson.The only minor quibble with her in this role is that she looks nothing like Gillian Anderson's Lady Dedlock or John Lynch's Captain Hawdon, Esther's parents.
The entire cast is beyond reproach, and with two classic performances by Burn Gorman, the very embodiment of Mr Guppy, and Pauline Collins' bird-like Miss Flyte, I can't imagine Bleak House ever being more perfectly cast.Even the cat playing Mr Krook's Lady Jane is a brilliant actor.
Anna Maxwell Martin and Gillian Anderson are dynamite, and their one and only scene together is second only to Jo's Death in impact.Being Dickens there is also some fine humor along the way.
It's hard-hitting stuff, Bleak House, and very pertinent to our times.The cinematography, music, costumes, everything are great.I can't think of a greater Dickens film adaptation.
I would say only the 1995 Beeb Pride and Prejudice comes close to keeping the top spot.It is a hard toss up for which is my favorite Dickens book, and perhaps this miniseries proves that Bleak House is the champion of the Most Adaptable book, in that many of the characters are very relatable to today's average person.
But her illness spurs a person keeping a secret to reveal things that may cause exposure--and many are circling around the strange mystery of the origins of the law writer, Lady dedlock, Esther.There are some love-to-hate-em villains in this like Smallweed (funny and repulsive), Krook (he is) and Mr Tulkinghorne who is not funny and very much a villain.When I first got the series I thought I would watch one or two a night, but I basically canceled my life and viewed it within a 24 hr period--basically like a book you can't put down, I didn't stop.It is worth it, and it is worth noting that the votes for the miniseries herein garnered fewer than 10 votes below the rating of 8 which is pretty phenomenal.It is a phenomenal series--at first the direction appears a bit unorthodox for a Victorian novel, but it soon settles in as natural.Hats off to everyone--Gillian Anderson did herself proud, something I never expected.The quote in the summary line above summarizes Dickens' view that God and his mismanaging adult humans of Means have much to answer for in how they inflict suffering on the young, weak and poor..
Bleak House has everything that a Dickens-novel should have: an involving story, great characterizations, an abundance of figures who are either hilarious (young Guppy and his mother, Mr. Turveydrop), extremely sinister (attorney Tulkinghorn, old Smallweed, slimy Skimpole) or endearing (Mrs. Flite, little Jo), and a very outspoken criticism on the abominable situation of the poor underclass of London.
I found this a rather unsatisfying adaption of the Dickens book (which I just re-read).
Anna Maxwell-Martin manages to make Esther convincingly good without being sickly, Dennis Lawson is thoroughly sympathetic without being too quirky, and Gillian Anderson and Charles Dance work together in their tragic fencing match outstandingly.There isn't a single character that looks or feels wrong.