Bleak House (1985)
Starring: Diana
Rigg, Denholm
Elliott Director: Ross
Devenish Rating 
Actors: Diana
Rigg, Denholm
Elliott, Philip
Franks, T.P.
McKenna, Brian
Deacon
Directors: Ross
Devenish
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Original recording
remastered, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD
formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rating:
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: September 6, 2005
Run Time: 418 minutes
There is an excellent 2006 BBC version of
BLEAK HOUSE, but the 1985 production is my favorite. I won't compare the
two--other than to remark that each version ignores certain plotlines, while
emphasizing others. The original story is quite involved, so you really can get
away with making major cuts here & there. I will say this, I believe the
1985 version is truer to the spirit of Charles Dickens--that is, comic,
outrageous...and very compassionate.
At the center of the film is a famous
probate/family court case in the London House of Chancery. The case has dragged
on for years and at least one party has committed suicide over it, while others
have been driven to madness & ruin. In the course of the story and also
sparks a murder investigation in which practically everyone is a suspect. Some
pretty bleak things indeed--except Dickens presents it all within a funny,
satirical framework loaded with melodramatic situations--as was the fashion of
the time. His Russian counterpart Dostoievsky also combined spiritual themes
with a highly melodramatic story line.
As is often the case in Dickens' stories, the
characters bear satirical names that explain their role in the plot. In this
proto-crime show there are names like Lord & Lady Deadlock; moneygrubbers
Mr. Krook & his relative Mr. Smallweed; the evil lawyer/solicitor Mr.
Talkinghorn, the solicitor wannabe Mr. Guppy (small fish in a large pond) and
so forth. As a matter of fact, Mr. Guppy undergoes s sort of spiritual
awakening in the course of the novel and the film. This too happens in both
Dickens' and Dostoievsky's work.
Some highlights:
Diana Riggs' outstanding performance as Lady
Deadlock, a noblewoman with a dark & fatal secret to conceal.
The pathetic, homeless orphan street-sweeper
Joe, constantly harassed by the law to "move on," but who has no
place to move on to. In the end he becomes a sort of Christ figure. The (true)
Christian spirit (or lack of it) is an important theme in BLEAK HOUSE. Before
he succumbs to smallpox, the illiterate boy, who blames himself for exposing
one of the heroines to the disease, begs that a billboard be made & with
giant letters write on it the words, "I'm sorry."
Another interesting thematic concept of the
novel that is more evident in the 1985 version is the fact that it is women who
most accurately reflect the Christian spirit, and it is the female characters
that actively motivate the plot. This has some interesting implications.
Towards the end of the film, the ward &
housekeeper Esther must go on a journey in search of her mother who is herself
on a sort Cavalry mission before she dies. Within the course of one evening,
Esther experiences scenes of utter human desolation & despair that brought
to mind the lighter transitional journey of Scrooge in A CHRISTMAS CAROL.
Dickens lampoons the idle rich & the false
religion of "do gooders" who preach to the poor, but seldom offer any
real help or assistance to them. He often went on all night walks through
London and you can see the results in BLEAK HOUSE.
A final thought: BLEAK HOUSE the novel and
both film versions have one of the saddest scenes in either book or drama. The
poor, mad little Miss Flight keeps dozens of canaries in her squalid one room
hovel. She herself is the product of a failed law case. She names her birds
Sadness, Want, Decay, Envy, Greed. Etc. She has placed her hopes in the
eventual success of the two young wards of the central probate case. In the end
she sees the destruction of these desperate dreams & lets all her canaries
fly away into the dingy London smog.
PS. Charles Dickens was a fascinating
personality, a genius who could speak to all classes of society. Not only did
he write wonderful novels, he very successfully performed them in 1-man shows.
The
Mystery of Charles Dickens
Review: JEFarrow
Updated 04/08
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