A really good adaption of Dicken's last completed novel. The romances are done quite well and probably appeal better to a modern audience who expect some heartache and pain before a final happy ending might be possible. So as you might expect our two romantic leads don't hit it off when they first encounter each other. There's lots of themes of water and drowning in this story just as we had in Great Expectations and The Old Curiosity Shop. We have some likeable and interesting characters, unrequited loves, social class barriers, great art and costume design. The cast is also fantastic, there's lots of subtext about inheritance and education. The series nicely subverts your expectations and it doesn't follow the conventions we think it might. We might expect the shy inarticulate headmaster to become the romantic hero for instance. Feelings and relationships are just very complicated in this story and the love feels hard earned. There's also some nice use of shadow and lighting too, especially in the London at night parts. There's probably one too many twists, the lead actor comes off a bit bland, but those are my only complaints really. All in all an excellent story that holds up very well to a modern viewer.
Review of Our Mutual Friend
