Posted by Helen on: 02.26.2009 /
I don’t know if anyone reading this watched Oliver Twist on PBS the last couple of weeks (I’m sure it’s been on in the UK already). (Part 2 of Oliver Twist (half of it) is still available online for a few more days, here.)
It was an interesting adaptation. Almost all the casting was brilliant and the adaptation captured the spirit of the book very well in many ways, with appropriate updates to make the language more accessible. On the other hand, the music was a little too contemporary - it didn’t exactly fit and some of the plot changes didn’t seem like improvements.
I thought they portrayed the violent villain Sikes very well. He was young, handsome and had intense staring eyes that were very creepy. However I didn’t like how they changed a couple of things later in the series. They made a murder he committed unintentional and his own death intentional; whereas it was the other way around in the book.
Bumble and Mrs Corney were awesome. Although they didn’t exactly follow the book they captured the spirit of it excellently, depicting Bumble’s shock when he discovers what Mrs Corney is really like, as soon as they are married.
I didn’t like what they did with Monks - they turned him into a boringly stereotypical villain who somehow pulled the wool over the eyes of his close relations. In the book his character was known; the shock was the extent of his evil intent towards Oliver rather than him being of dubious character. I suppose they changed his intent to make Oliver evil to an intent to have him murdered for dramatic effect. Maybe it did heighten the suspense.
I liked the conflicted character Fagin was portrayed as although I’m not sure he had as many good feelings in the book as in the series.
And although they changed the ending for the Artful Dodger, what they did seemed in keeping with the messages Dickens wanted to get across in this book. The series hints that he’s going to end up like Bill Sykes. Because the world he lives in gives him few other options.
The moment in the series that really bugged me was when the judge says to Fagan? “You wish for mercy? Then take Christ as your Savior”. WHAT WAS THAT??? There’s nothing like that in Dickens. Presumably they were trying to portray the unfair prejudice against Jews and lack of respect of their faith. However, in my opinion it was a lamentable attempt at that which didn’t fit the context at all.
In spite of the things I didn’t like, overall I enjoyed it enough that it was well worth watching. Like I said, the casting was brilliant on the whole and it was a delight to see Dicken’s characters brought to life.
It’s too bad that a TV series can never portray Dickens’ running sarcastic commentary throughout the book. One of the surprises for me as I got to know classic literature was what an awesome sense of humor and irony Dickens has. Check out this blog I just discovered for some wonderful excerpts from the book.
Comment by: Gina
1Thank you so much for the mention, Helen! I enjoyed reading your review of the film.
Comment by: Helen
2You’re welcome, Gina! I like your blog - it was fun to find it. I’ve been a Dickens fan for decades.