Martin Chuzzlewit Still Got It

I've written before about how much the 1995 Pride and Prejudice basically changed my life, but the reason I even saw it in the first place was because my parents and I were already in the habit of watching Masterpiece Theater-type miniseries together. Martin Chuzzlewit came out the year before P&P and while it didn't become an obsession, I remember enjoying it.

Having seen it over 25 years ago, it was amazing how much I remembered. It has many unforgettable characters and scenes. A decade later Andrew Davies is credited with livening up Dickens by making Bleak House (2005) with a lot of quick cuts and cliffhangers. This was widely applauded and he brought a similar style to Little Dorrit (2008). But for me, the combination of Dickens' ridiculous characters with everything being over-dramatized and fast paced just felt like...a lot. Too much. Martin Chuzzlewit has a slower, smoother pace, which allows the actors to really go for it without becoming grating or exhausting. The exceptional acting carries the story.

Martin Chuzzlewit is the name of both an old man and his young grandson, although neither feels like the main character of the story. The real main character is Seth Pecksniff, a completely amoral man who wraps up all his plotting in a veneer of goodness and gentility. He is played to perfection by Tom Wilkinson.

Pecksniff is dastardly at times (there is a particularly upsetting scene when he physically grabs a woman who he wants to marry and won't let her go) but most of the time he is comedic. Everything he does is done with 10 layers of obsequious posturing.

Pecksniff has two daughters: Charity and Mercy, or "Cherry" and "Merry" because Pecksniff is that kind of cheeseball. Emma Chambers plays older sister Charity, who at first she seems to be the perfect picture of sweet, feminine docility. It falls apart though when a man she thought was about to propose to her, proposes instead to Mercy. She bursts into a screaming rage and it is funny and cathartic all at once.

Let it out girl

For the rest of the story she asserts herself more and tries to take charge of her life. Some of the choices are more "Oh honey no" than "Yaas Queen" but she is consistently interesting and entertaining.

Montague Tigg

Pete Postlethwaite is AMAZING as a character who is basically two characters. Montague Tigg starts the story as a poor, rough-looking opportunist. Eventually he finds the right opportunity and transforms himself into the stylish Tigg Montague. As one character remarks, even his own mother might have trouble recognizing him.

Tigg Montague

Other standouts include Paul Scofield as both older Martin Chuzzlewit and his twin brother Anthony, and the exceptional Elizabeth Spriggs as Mrs. Gamp.

Couldn't understand half of what she said but still into it

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellows also has a small role.

ME?

This being Dickens, there has to be some darkness and gloom. In addition to Pecksniff assaulting Mary Graham, there is a major storyline about an abusive marriage which is really painful to watch.

It involves Julia Sawalha's character Mercy

On a less serious note, the other upsetting thing about this miniseries is that this character is supposed to be the same age as me:

Unacceptable.

One interesting thing about Martin Chuzzlewit is that it was written in 1843 just after Dickens visited the United States for the first time. He wrote a travelogue which critiqued quite a bit about American society, including slavery and our dangerous love of capitalism and how we idolize successful businessmen. In Martin Chuzzlewit, young Martin goes to the US to try to make his fortune, and is swindled into buying land in a remote swamp were everyone is dying of a fever. Slavery isn't mentioned, but it still paints a pretty unfavorable picture of our country. You know what else paints an unfavorable picture of our country? Our still very current problems of racism, capitalism, and rampant illness!

I won't go so far as to call Martin Chuzzlewit prescient. It is a very white, old-timey story about 1840s England. But if you are wanting a break from current events, but still want your entertainment with a whiff of anti-American sentiment, Martin Chuzzlewit isn't a bad bet.