La petite Dorritt

I admit I hadn't read the book for a long time, and I do remember finding it rather complicated. Reading it again, I found it an insightful piece of literature, but it isn't the easiest book to sink your teeth into at first. But along with 2005's Bleak House, this adaptation of Little Dorrit was absolutely brilliant, and by far one of the better dramatisations of 2008.

What is worth of mention is the period detail. It was stunning and truly evocative! You can never go wrong with realistic looking sets,skillful camera work, lavish costumes and breathtaking scenery, and this adaptation scored highly in all four of these areas. The music from John Lunn was gorgeous, and the scripts were of exceptional quality. The plot, may be a little complicated at times, but I will say at 17 I was hooked from minute one. I think it was to do with how every scene was shot and executed. There are a handful of poignant, bleak and truly haunting moments throughout.

Other than the overall closeness to the book and how it was filmed, what made this dramatisation was the quality of the performances. I don't think anybody gave a bad performance whatsoever. Claire Foy gives an appealing lead performance as Amy, and Matthew MacFadyen is charming and handsome. Tom Courtenay is truly heart-wrenching as Amy's father, in one of his best understated performances, and I do think Courtenay is in some ways undervalued as an actor, Allun Armstrong is as reliable as ever as Jeremiah and Andy Serkis steals every scene he's in in a truly sinister performance as Rigaud (who is a real creep). And I found his accent convincing, if anything he could have done with more screen time.

Overall, I cannot sing my praises enough of this fine dramatisation of Dickens' book. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This adaptation takes the book very seriously, and is a true adaptation. 14 episodes at first seemed a little daunting, but this series is captivating, with wonderful characters and fantastic cinematography. The soundtrack suits the series well, and just gives that extra touch to get the watcher crying, laughing, and sighing at the television screen! You truly feel like you are in the series, which makes it a series in a league of it's own. The casting is fantastic, and well done for Claire Foy - she portrayed the character brilliantly for a first large part! In the end, if I had to describe this series in one word; it's really, truly 'sweet' - there is no other word! - and will no doubt leave the viewer with a smile on their face by the end of it!

I have seen many many adaptations of Dickens and other novels and period dramas. Little Dorrit is not one of Dickens' most known novels, however, this as it turns out is one of the best adaptations of all time. It has an extensive runtime allowing a complete and thorough faithful adaptation of the novel to be included. The production is wonderful and never drags, the different plot lines are interwoven brilliantly. Casting is perfect and all round great acting. Particularly Claire Foy in one of her early roles she is wonderful as Little Dorrit. Though the 1987 version of Little Dorrit was not bad for its time, this is such a great version that I supplants it in every way. The definitive Little Dorrit and the gauntlet for all period and novel adaptations.

From the first moments of this wonderful production we (mum, dad and two girls 10 and 12) were entranced. Unlike those in the UK who would see this a slice a week, we saw the whole lot over a single long weekend. As I write - we've just two episodes to go...

We have all the BBC Dickens productions for comparison - including the recent Bleak House and our favourites Great Expectations and (my personal top) Our Mutual Friend. LD comes v.close to the top of this pile - The last two episodes may tip the balance....

From the first, this production grabs with its beautiful and (perhaps unusually) 'sunny' scenery. None of the austerity of the recent Great Expectations production, nor the gloominess of Bleak House. Actually this made for a nice change.... The acting is perfect - with key emotional scenes being utterly believable. The actor playing Young Chivery (heading for great things I suspect) induced a flood burst of tears from my 10 year old in the marriage proposal scene. As others have mentioned, even the smaller parts are excellently cast and played. But there's something else at play here to make this possible.

In many Dickens productions Directors seem loath to leave peripheral characters out. Bleak House in particular suffered for this I think. In LD everyone seems to have space and time in which to be presented and to evolve. It never feels chaotic or suffocating - time is taken, and this makes the whole that more soluble.

The leads are all superb - Little Dorit is perfectly perfect without being goody goody....(another issue with Bleak House), and Andrew McFad is particularly good, managing to look younger than he did in the wonderful Pride and Prejudice... And did he chub up for the role? Things have been left out - and perhaps the damning indictment of society and government are not so forcibly presented as they might have been. But what remains is a delightful mystery, beautifully told and acted and which we will want to watch all over again as soon as we've come to the end.

I love this version of Little Dorrit. Whilst I have not read the book, and so cannot vouch for its following the storyline faithfully, I find it interesting enough to enjoy it immensely every time I watch it.

Some characters are funny, some capricious, others are mercenary whilst a few are kind and good hearted. The juxtaposition of all the different personalities really does make good viewing, and the true Dickensian oddities are very funny and entertaining, like Mr. Panks or the extraordinary French gentleman!

The story holds a lot of events and developments that both interest and satisfy the viewer. A classic tale of love, hardship and affluence, this film is like a ray of sunlight in a darkened room: murky and mysterious, yet somehow also rather quaint and sweet.