Little Dorrit (TV series)

Plot

Since her birth in 1805, Amy Dorrit has lived in the Marshalsea Prison for Debt for twenty-one years, caring for her father, William, who now enjoys a position of privileged seniority as the Father of the Marshalsea. Amy works as a seamstress for Mrs. Clennam, a cranky, cold and forbidding semi-invalid living in a crumbling home with servants, the sinister Jeremiah Flintwinch and his bumbling wife, Affery.

Mr. Clennam and his son Arthur have been handling the family business in China for 15 years. On his deathbed, he asks his son "put it right" with his mother and hands Arthur a pocket watch. On his return to England, Arthur gives his mother the watch, which she opens and takes out a bit of cloth containing the words "Do not forget."

Arthur is enamoured of the beautiful Minnie (Pet) Meagles, who prefers aspiring artist, Henry Gowan, to her parents' distress. Arthur befriends Amy and wonders whether his mother's uncharacteristically benevolent attitude towards her indicates his family may be responsible for the Dorrits' misfortunes. Amy falls in love with Arthur, and John Chivery, who guards the prison with his father, watches in dismay because he loves Amy.

Amy's brother, Tip, falls into debt and joins his father in prison. Arthur pays his debt anonymously; but Amy guesses, whilst Tip is ungrateful. Arthur tries to discover why Dorrit was originally confined to the Marshalsea and asks rent collector and amateur detective, Mr. Pancks, to investigate. John Chivery proposes to Amy, who declines, upsetting both fathers and threatening Dorrit's privileged position. , Unaware of Amy's love, Arthur proposes to Pet, who tells him she plans to marry Gowan. He meets inventor-engineer Daniel Doyce, and they become partners.

Mrs. Clennam asks Flintwinch to destroy a box of papers she has kept for years, but he gives the box to his twin brother Ephraim instead. Ex-convict and murderer Rigaud meets Ephraim in a pub and observes how tightly he is holding onto the box. He gets Ephraim drunk, murders him, and takes the papers, which reveal a Clennam family secret.

Pancks discovers that Dorrit is heir to a fortune. Now wealthy, Dorrit leaves the Marshalsea and insists his family forget their "shameful past" and everyone connected to it, snubbing and insulting Arthur. He hires Mrs Hortensia General to educate his daughters and prepare them for society. They all depart on a Grand Tour of Europe, but Amy cannot adapt to the new lifestyle. Amy's sister, Fanny, is courted by Edmund Sparkler, step-son of wealthy financier, Mr. Merdle. At Pancks' suggestion, Arthur invests the Doyce & Clennam funds in Merdle's bank.

Dorrit returns to England and asks Merdle for advice on "prudent investment". Merdle agrees to invest Dorrit's fortune as a family favour. Still tormented by prison memories and losing touch with reality, Dorrit returns to Italy to propose to Mrs General. She interrupts his impetuous proposal but implies future acceptance. At an elegant ball held by Mrs. Merdle, who is also in Italy, Dorrit addresses the attendees as "the Father of the Marshalsea" and completely reverts to his former role. Amy and Dorrit's brother Frederick escort him back to their rooms, where he persists in his delusion and dies. Mrs. General has departed, and Frederick is found dead at his brother's side the next morning.

Amy returns to London, where she is accommodated by Fanny, who has married Sparkler, largely to spite his mother Mrs. Merdle. While Merdle has been regarded as a financial genius and "the man of the age," his suicide reveals that his bank is a Ponzi scheme. Thousands are ruined, including Arthur, who chooses to enter the Marshalsea rather than flee the country. After showing him to Dorrit's old room, John Chivery angrily reveals to Arthur that Amy loves him. A despondent Arthur is shocked to receive a visit from Rigaud, who tells him "I know all about you," and could destroy the Clennam family business. After Rigaud's departure, Arthur becomes ill with a dangerous fever. He wakens from his delirium to find he is being nursed by Amy. She offers to pay his debts out of her inheritance, but he refuses.

Rigaud returns to Mrs. Clennam and reveals what he learned from the documents. Her cruel attitude drove her husband to infidelity, which resulted in the birth of Arthur, whom Mrs. Clennam raised as her own, with no motherly feeling. When Arthur's birth mother died, his paternal grandfather bequeathed money to Amy, who was born in the Marshalsea the day Arthur's birth mother died. Rigaud demands £2,000 to keep silent, but Mrs. Clennam rises from her wheelchair and leaves her house for the first time in years, stumbling to the Marshalsea. She finds Amy, reveals the truth, and begs forgiveness. As she returns to her dilapidated house with Amy's assistance, the building collapses, killing Rigaud. Mrs. Clennam falls to the ground and dies, while Flintwinch emerges from the ruins and runs away.

The Dorrits learn that all their money was invested with Merdle and is lost. Now that Amy is penniless, Arthur accepts her, and they declare their mutual love. Daniel Doyce returns from Russia, where he has made a fortune. Instead of being angry with Arthur for losing the company's funds, he tells him that his success keeps the company going and makes Arthur rich. Surrounded by their friends, Arthur and Amy are married.

Cast

• Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit "Little Dorrit"
• Matthew Macfadyen as Arthur Clennam
• Judy Parfitt as Mrs. Clennam
• Tom Courtenay as William Dorrit
• Andy Serkis as Rigaud / Blandois
• Eddie Marsan as Mr. Pancks
• Emma Pierson as Fanny Dorrit
• James Fleet as Frederick Dorrit
• Arthur Darvill as Edward "Tip" Dorrit
• Anton Lesser as Mr. Merdle
• Amanda Redman as Mrs. Merdle
• Sebastian Armesto as Edmund Sparkler
• Alun Armstrong as Jeremiah / Ephraim Flintwinch
• Sue Johnston as Affery Flintwinch
• Georgia King as Minnie "Pet" Meagles
• Alex Wyndham as Henry Gowan
• Bill Paterson as Mr. Meagles
• Janine Duvitski as Mrs. Meagles
• Ruth Jones as Flora Casby Finching
• John Alderton as Christopher Casby
• Annette Crosbie as Mr. F's Aunt
• Zubin Varla as Daniel Doyce
• Russell Tovey as John Chivery
• Ron Cook as Mr. Chivery
• Freema Agyeman as Tattycoram
• Maxine Peake as Miss Wade
• Harriet Walter as Mrs. Gowan
• Jason Thorpe as Jean-Baptiste Cavalletto
• Jason Watkins as Mr. Plornish
• Rosie Cavaliero as Mrs. Plornish
• Eve Myles as Maggy
• Robert Hardy as Tite Barnacle [Sr]
• Darren Boyd as Tite Barnacle Jr
• Pam Ferris as Mrs. Hortensia General
• Nicholas Jones as Mr. Merdle's butler
• Geoffrey Whitehead as Doctor
• Nicholas Blane as Lawyer
• Angus Barnett as Slingo the horsedealer
• Roy Hudd as Theatre Director
• Skye Bennett as Girl
• Ian McElhinney as Mr. Clennam, Arthur's late father
• Elliot Francis as Errand Boy

Production

The series was filmed on location at Chenies Manor House, Luton Hoo, and Hellfire Caves in Buckinghamshire; Deal Castle in Kent; Hampton Court Palace as the Marshalsea; and the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. Interiors were filmed in the Pinewood Studios.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics have given the series a positive review, and the consensus states, "With a sterling cast and plenty of juicy drama, Little Dorrit is a superb adaptation."

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the series was often compared to Davies' Bleak House, which was released three years earlier. One reviewer for The Daily Telegraph wrote that "Some of the acting has been a bit too hammy" and blamed falling viewing figures on "confusion over scheduling, starting as an hour long special and then breaking into half an hour episodes, like a Victorian East Enders"; another added that it "doesn't seem to have caught on in the same way as other recent costume dramas such as Cranford and Bleak House", both due to scheduling and also down since "it wasn't quite as good" as these two programmes, though also that "Most of the cast were as reliably terrific". The Independent also praised the performances, especially Courtenay, Macfadyen and Peake, whilst another of its reviewers praised Davies' adaptation. The Guardian also praised the acting and the adaptation, though with the caveat that "because it's Dickens, those top names can get away with a little bit more showing off and look-at-me acting than they would be able to in, say, Jane Austen".

United States

Brian Lowry of Variety observed, "Slow going at first and rushed near the end, it's nevertheless an absorbing piece of work, reminding us that there are certain things the Brits simply do better... Davies could have easily shed (or at least pared down) a few of [the] subplots without seriously diminishing the story's grandeur, and after the lengthy windup, the last hour races through tying up the assorted loose ends. Even so, there's so much gaudy talent on display here that those with an appetite for it won't be able to get enough, and Little Dorrit gives them everything they could want in a big, gloriously messy package."

Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe felt the series "has so many virtues – indelible performances, stirring pathos, and an emotional and psychological heft unusual for Dickens – that you can forgive its one significant flaw... For all its feeling, Little Dorrit does not wrap up well, which is a no-no when it comes to Dickens. Indeed, a Dickens denouement needs to be neat... But the loose strings that Davies leaves dangling at the end of this script are frustrating. All the carefully built mystery implodes in the final act, as the importance of a number of characters... and the backstory itself are left murky in ways that Dickens made clear... It's hard to imagine how this happened in the course of such an otherwise mindful endeavor. And yet Little Dorrit is still rewarding, for the long journey, if not for the final stop."

Robert Lloyd of the Los Angeles Times noted, "Not every character is exactly as described on paper; some don't stay around long enough to register and others who have earned our interest just disappear. And the story can be confusing at times. But all in all, this is a dynamic, addictive rendition of a complicated novel."

Jonathan Storm of The Philadelphia Inquirer stated, "Andrew Davies, who made 2006's Bleak House one of the best TV shows of the year, crafts another superb script, with characters and incidents squeezing out the sides, just the thing to satisfy close observers, which anyone joining this maxi mini-series should be. Costumes, sets, and actors, a broad lot of those super-skilled, terrifically trained Brits, make for sumptuous viewing... You pretty much know what to expect when Masterpiece visits the 19th century. But Little Dorrit stands at the high end of a very lofty list of period-piece achievement. It's big entertainment."

In her review in The New York Times, Alessandra Stanley said the series "is as rich at the margins as at the center with strange, and strangely believable, characters from almost all levels of society, rendered in quick, firm strokes," while David Wiegand of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "terrific entertainment... in some ways, perhaps even better than its source material."

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

References

1. "Little Dorrit[10/12/2008] (2008)".
2. (26 October 2008). "Little Dorrit".
3. Stanley, Alessandra. (28 March 2009). "Dickens and the Business Cycle: The Victorian Way of Debt (Published 2009)". The New York Times.
4. "ABC1 Programming Airdate: Little Dorrit (episode one)". ABC Television Publicity.
5. "UKTV Programme Synopsis: Little Dorrit". UKTV Online.
6. "Little Dorrit (Masterpiece)".
7. "Little Dorrit".
8. (24 November 2008). "Little Dorrit is superb even if audiences are falling". The Daily Telegraph.
9. Walton, James. (11 December 2008). "Last night on television – Little Dorrit (BBC1)". The Daily Telegraph.
10. Sutcliffe, Tom. (27 October 2008). "The Weekend's Television: Little Dorrit, Sun, BBC1". The Independent.
11. Eyre, Hermione. (2 November 2008). "Television: Little Dorrit, BBC1". The Independent.
12. Wollaston, Sam. (27 October 2008). "The weekend's TV". The Guardian.
13. Brian Lowry. "Little Dorrit". Variety.
14. (27 March 2009). "Dickens meets 'Lost' in PBS's 'Little Dorrit' – The Boston Globe". Boston.com.
15. (27 March 2009). "Review: 'Little Dorrit' on PBS". Los Angeles Times.
16. Storm, Jonathan. (28 March 2009). "Jonathan Storm: 'Little Dorrit': One dandy Dickens tale".
17. (28 March 2009). "The New York Times".
18. (28 March 2009). "TV review: Smart, well-played 'Little Dorrit'". San Francisco Chronicle.
19. (2009). "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2009".
20. (February 26, 2009). "Shortlist for 35th BPG Television and Radio Awards".
21. "Winners of the 6th Annual Irish Film & Television Awards".
22. "13th Annual TV Awards (2008-09)".
23. "Little Dorrit (Masterpiece)". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
24. (14 March 2011). "RTS Programme Winners 2009". [[Royal Television Society]].
25. (24 January 2011). "CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2009".
26. "2009 Satellite Awards". [[International Press Academy]].
27. (2013-06-03). "The Television and Radio Industries Club - TRIC Awards 2009 Nominees".
28. "Writers' Guild Awards 2009".
29. "11th Costume Designers Guild Awards". [[Costume Designers Guild]].
30. "Little Dorrit – Golden Globes".
31. (January 5, 2010). "PGA unveils nominations". Variety.