Little Dorrit: Film One: Nobody's Fault; Little Dorrit: Film Two: Little Dorrit's Story

Generally, the works of Charles Dickens are streamlined to fit within the confines of a two-hour movie. In Little Dorrit, however, director Christine Edzard has given the great novelist fuller scope, and the result is a much richer experience of Dickens' genius. Set in 1820's London, Nobody's Fault opens with the coming home of bachelor Arthur Clennam (Derek Jacobi) to a failing family business run by his iron-fisted, semi-invalid mother, and her grouchy servant. A new seamstress, Amy Dorrit (Sarah Pickering), working for the Clennam's, piques Arthur's interest, and he discovers that her father (Alec Guinness) has been a long-time resident in a debtor's prison. Devoting himself to saving the Dorrit's, Arthur's own fortunes take a dramatic rise and fall. Little Dorrit's Story, after detailing the younger years of Amy Dorrit and her family, reprises the same story as in the first film--only now we see the events through Little Dorrit's eyes, which makes for a completely different story. Jacobi and Guinness are superb in their roles, as are many of the minor characters. The two flaws--and they are minor--consist of the relatively undramatic character of Amy Dorrit (the pure--and dull as dishwater--hero/heroine problem that consistently plagued Dickens' great novels), and a few loose ends which are not quite wrapped up at film's end. Nevertheless, this is an admirable attempt to bring the breadth of Dickens to the screen. Nominated for two Academy Awards, Little Dorrit also garnered Best Picture honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)