The reviews for this have really baffled me. I have watched the 1982, 1997, and 2018 version of the woman in white. The 1982 has lots of merits though it is very much an early 80s low budget bbc tv adaptation. The 1997 is total rubbish - amends the plot, too short, no atmosphere, and poor acting. But this 2018 version was very impressive I thought. It is extremely faithful to the novel save for a few streamlined plot elements. And at 5 hours long everything gets covered the way it should. I watch a lot of period adaptations, Dickens, Austen, as well as a lot of theatre, Shakespeare etc. So I am very used to seeing the best of the best in the British acting pantheon take on many of the classic roles. There is no classic actor here in the main characters but nevertheless it is a rare case of a smaller profile adaptation being very good despite the lack of high profile cast and crew. What really impressed me is how you really got a sense in this version of how the many elements of the novel - detective, mystery, crime, drama, gothic - all play a part and mesh together to make a really great story. Plot wise the novel is quite difficult to follow as well because a lot of pivotal events take place before the novel begins and are gradually unveiled throughout the course of the story, so you have to keep a lot of detail in your mind as it is told rather than seen. This adaptation did a really good job with the script in making this really easy to follow the plot. Ok it was not life changing and not hugely emotionally affecting. But I don't think either is the novel. It is a classic novel which pioneered a number of features of modern storytelling we now take for granted, and I think this adaptation did as good as job as could be imagined in conveying the novel, it's tone, plot, and messages, to screen.
