LITTLE DORRIT (1988) Running time: 360 mins.
Charles Dickens, who peaked at the time of the serialization craze in English fiction, got paid by the word, and it's easy to imagine that's the reason for the vast, sprawling length of his many novels. But when writer/director Christine Edzard created her ambitious movie version of his Little Dorrit, she was determined not to short-change the complex richness of the narrative simply to bring the production in at a tidy two hours. After all, if Dickens took the time to make his legions of characters and mountains of subplots all come together like clockwork, why shouldn't she extend him the same courtesy? Clocking in at around six hours, Little Dorrit isn't just long for length's sake: it's in service of a cleverly ambiguous plot, split into two often conflicting points of view. Everyone brings their best game to Little Dorrit, from the set designers to the cinematographer, but especially the actors: for those who have a low tolerance for Dickens' wicked excess, twisted excursions and talky supporting characters, it's the acting, featuring a veritable Who's Who of quality British actors of the 1980s, that keeps you in your seat. Edzard may have learned her lesson — she never directed anything as ambitious again after this — but she did what she set out to do: create the most intricate, essential, and faithful recreation of a Dickens novel ever made.
Read More...