Our Mutual FriendCritically acclaimed as Dickens’ crowning achievement, this sweeping tale of two turbulent love affairs plays out amidst a tangled web of wealth, corruption, passion and betrayal in 1860s London.One of Charles Dickens’ darkest yet also most romantic novels gets a lavish treatment in this BBC mini-series of Our Mutual Friend. The heir to a great fortune made from the garbage business is drowned–and his death affects everyone. His father’s manager, Noddy Boffin (Peter Vaughan, Brazil), gets the money, to the alarm of snooty society. The man who pulled the heir’s body out of the Thames is accused of his murder; his daughter, Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes, Tipping the Velvet), finds herself pursued by both an idle gentleman (Paul McGann, Withnail & I) and an obsessed, violent schoolteacher (David Morrissey, Basic Instinct 2). The heir’s intended bride, Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel, Me Without You, gets socially adopted by the Boffins, where she succumbs to the lure of money above all and spurns the interest of a mysterious stranger (Steven Mackintosh, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels). The plot creeps up and down London society like a tenacious plant, twining around a pair of golddiggers who mistakenly married each other and a heartsick bone merchant named Mr. Venus (Timothy Spall, Secrets & Lies). This excellent adaptation moves with aggressive speed, drawing the viewer into the grimy worlds of the riverside and the dust heaps and the glittering, gossiping parties of the rich. Our Mutual Friend balances one of Dickens’ most entrancing love stories with his creepiest gothic turns–it’s a rich stew of characters both earnest and vile, made with sumptuous production values and movie-quality cinematography. –Bret Fetzer
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(out of 85 reviews)
Review by Thomas M. Croft for Our Mutual Friend
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Others here have done a fine job of reviewing this excellent film, so I’ll focus briefly on the DVD from BBC/Warner. The video and audio transfers of Our Mutual Friend are quite good. Although there are no subtitles, this DVD is closed-captioned. In general, this DVD is of similar quality to other BBC Dickens adaptations that have been released on DVD (e.g., Oliver Twist (1999) and David Copperfield (1999)).
One reviewer below complained that 45 minutes or more of the original film are missing from this DVD. I have no idea where he got that idea. It must be some kind of misunderstanding or perhaps a defective copy because my copy clearly has the entire film (divided into four episodes, two on each side of a two-sided disc). The all-important climax and ending scenes of this 351-minute production are all there to enjoy. Highly recommended for Dickens fans and fans of period dramas in general.
Review by GEORGE RANNIE for Our Mutual Friend
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“Our Mutual Friend” finds Charles Dickens at his very darkest and most intense providing many unforgettable characters ranging from the very rich to the very poor. Retched and vile, noble and good occupying all social structures with the desire and acquisition of money along with the ramifications thereof being a recurring theme
This BBC production is superb. The acting is splendid. This production keeps this rather complex story moving along splendidly.
Sit down and enjoy a “really good show”. You’ll need some patience because the story is very involved; however, trust me; your patience will be rewarded! As a previous reviewer stated, if you can devote 6 hours in one viewing, its best viewed that way. However, anyway you can see this presentation it is well worth your time. Trust me, it is worth every second that you spend!
Review by M. Bryce for Our Mutual Friend
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I vaguely remember seeing a dramatization of Our Mutual Friend on PBS in the 1980s, but the only character I remembered was the dollmaker. This 1999 production is outstanding. Great cast – especially Paul McGann – lots of twists, and kept me glued to it for all 5 1/2 hours. I’m so glad that Amazon has included this gem in it’s growing selection of British films and adaptions for television. Simply brilliant.
Review by lynchy for Our Mutual Friend
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Wow! this has got to be one of the best period dramas ever. If you like to see a taste of the reality of what times were like for the poor versus the rich, I recommend this one. It is a little slow to start off with and have to tell my friends that, but it really does take a whole hour to set the scene.
Review by Rebushka for Our Mutual Friend
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This is one of my family’s favorite films, bar none. We’ve watched it every year since it was broadcast in 1998 on PBS and each time is a special occasion. It’s a beautiful, complex story, beautifully done! Everyone, down to the most minor character, has their own story to tell. How well they are told, indeed, and what a tapestry is made when all the stories are put together! It’s exciting, moving, full of horror, romance and nobility, not to mention DARN good acting. So far, it’s our favorite BBC/Masterpiece Theater drama besides Pride and Prejudice (and for some of us, we like it even better).