The Woman in White

I will keep this brief for the sake of anyone coming upon this classic gem of a mystery for the first time. Completely disregard any review of this mini-series that's been rated lower than a 4. The people giving it super low ratings will bang on about it being an unworthy adaption or that the spirit of Willie Collins is completely lost on the writers and directors of this series. Ok I lied, not so brief of a review... but anyways these sour puss pretentious wanna be thespian mentioned above are people that have their minds made up before watching any literary classic adapted for the small screen. To them the book is always better no matter what. But guess what no duh... the books always better but that doesn't mean adapting a classic is a crime. I read the book. And having such I can tell you the makers of this show did a good job. The characters and sets were on point and the mystery delivered. I couldn't ask for more in an adaptation, much better than "the moonstone" another recently adapted Willie Collins story brought to the small screen. Sorry for the rant but I hate snobs. Watch and decide for yourself. The acting was great.

Although fairly predictable, I enjoyed this series which was recently on PBS. Being a fan of books and movies from the 1800s, I was glad to find one that I hadn't seen yet and which wasn't written by the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen. The most creepy character had to be Countess Fosco. Solid performances and gorgeous settings in the huge English countryside manors we love.

Having never read the book I approached this adaptation with fresh eyes. The series started well building the characters, a little obvious but acceptable. Around mid point I could see where the story was going and almost gave up but I'm glad I kept with it. The ending made it worth while. Great acting, sets, costumes in fact a lovely production. Stick with it, it's worth it.

The first episode (of 5, I believe) was excellent. Clever, absorbing, twisted, dark, entertaining. Well acted. I am completely pulled in, and will look forward to finding out what's going on!

UPDATE AFTER FOUR EPISODES: Ugh. Like many of these 8-hour adaptations, it would have made a great 2-hour movie, but in order to fill out 8 hours, they have to pad and pad and pad, and stretch and stretch and stretch. Every scene is too long. Every event happens three or four times. "Same stuff, different day." Why do they do that? Cut it down to a great 2-hour movie.

If you watch this, watch it with the remote in your hand. Fast-forward is your friend.

BBC I applaud you for having the courage to produce and put out something that can hardly be classed as mainstream. Wilkie Collins classic tale is known by many, how good though that this masterpiece of storytelling will be given to a brand new audience. The production team have done a fabulous job in creating the creepy, gothic, almost sinister atmosphere. I'm struck by the closeness to the text, although I'm sure in the current climate, with constant reinterpretations and changes that there'll be some tampering, however, the core story is delivered. Very well acted with all performing well, Dougray Scott and Jessie Buckley both showing their natural presence. Superb production values, great costumes etc. I enjoyed it, I'm so glad the BBC still has the confidence to produce something like this for a prime time Sunday slot.

Dear BBC I really enjoyed it, and I'm glad you updated it, but please remember there are plenty of other works that could do with a re-telling, Frances Durbridge's Melissa would be a great one, and a little different.

Enjoyed. 8/10