"Nobody's Fault" and "Little Dorrit's Story" are each three-hour films adapted by writer-director Christine Edzard from Charles Dickens' novel "Little Dorrit."
And while six hours of Dickens, done in a manner best described as "Masterpiece Theater" for the big screen, may seem daunting, there is a richness of character here, a powerful bit of storytelling all too often missing from modern movie enterprises.
Strangely, the main story resembles "When Harry Met Sally . . ." - reviewed above - right down to the resolution. And it's rather startling how closely Victorian England in "Little Dorrit" parallels present-day America, with its series of government offices pushing paperwork to ridiculous heights, everyday social injustices and ultimately investment fraud playing a major part in the story.
"Little Dorrit: Nobody's Fault" begins with the homecoming of Arthur Clennam (Derek Jacobi), returning to London after 20 years in China, only to find that his tyrannical mother (the late Joan Greenwood in her final role) hasn't changed a bit, still withholding love from him as a weapon.
But, after turning 40, he is determined to stand up to her and leave the family business. He does so and promptly attempts to make a new life for himself.
Along the way he visits the love of his youth (the hilarious Miriam Margolyes), who has become an overweight blathering widow who never stops talking or eating long enough to take a breath. Needless to say, Clennam is disappointed. He also becomes rather obsessed with a young seamstress in his mother's home, known simply as Little Dorrit (sad-faced Sarah Pickering), and makes it a point to discover her background and then to help her family. Eventually he also falls in love, but it is unrequited and she marries another. And he makes acquaintances of Dorrit's father (Alec Guinness in a marvelous turn), who is in the debtor's prison, and a zany accountant (very funny and very Dickensian Roshan Seth), who will figure in a surprising turn of events about two-thirds into the story.
There are many other subplots and characters - far too many to detail - as the first film rolls along, then after three hours, it abruptly stops.
The second film, "Little Dorrit's Story," rather than picking up the tale where the first film left off, retells the events of the first film, this time from Little Dorrit's point of view instead of Clennam's. And though there are a few moments that are necessarily redundant, it is a refreshing work that not only fills in the gaps of the first film and reveals the ending, but also gives us Alec Guinness' Oscar-nominated performance, which in the first film amounts to a cameo.
These six hours are obviously not for everyone, but if you want something cinematic with some real meat to it, strong storytelling and delightful characters, "Little Dorrit" is it.