This is a moving and powerful adaptation of Anne Bronte's novel. Unlike her sister's much more famous novels which are Gothic romances this is a contemporary (for it's time) novel about marriage and domestic abuse and the rights of women at the time. It is way ahead of its time and quite relevant today. The little observances of the mean spirited gossip mongers in the village are quite acutely observed. An abused wife flees her husband with their son and tries to live incognito in another village. The "old fashioned" part is when she returns to fulfill her duty to care for him when he is dying. But it's quite touching.Production is good - the 2 houses featured suit the story. The actors are good as can be expected. Rupert Graves is effective as the abusive unfaithful husband. Tara Fitzgerald isn't quite pretty enough for the role - so many men shouldn't fall so hopelessly in love with her.There are some departures from the novel but they are improvements for dramatic effect.Overall worth watching.

This 3 part BBC adaptation of the Anne Bronte novel runs 160 minutes total. Nicely shot, with a lot of surprisingly modern camera techniques for a Bronte novel. Usually this works well, although occasionally it gets self conscious (a couple too many 360 shots). The acting is solid, with Tara Fitzgerald an edgy but still empathetic heroine. But Rupert Graves' switch from flawless seducer to "worst man in the world" type villain is a bit over the top, although that may be the material, or approach more than performance. Indeed, at times I could feel Graves (a very good actor) trying to maintain some humanity under the almost Gothic heartlessness. The music is interesting and effectively anachronistic as well, often sounding something the Cocteau Twins, but as with the cinematography after a while it starts to get both repetitive and too self consciously avant-garde for a story mostly told in a straightforward Masterpiece Theater fashion. Lastly, the tidy ending bothered me a bit. The film did a good enough job capturing the complex difficulties of life, that I found myself wish for something that felt more honestly open ended. All that said, I still enjoyed the story, the scenery, and being transported into another time and place as only good storytelling can do. A quite good adaptation, I just wished it was great, and for 30 minutes or so, thought it might be.

CONTAINS SPOILERS!I saw an advert for this on a video.Then my sister discovered that we had the book so I read it.I rented the video on the same day I finished the book.I thought it was very memorable as was the book. The cast was brilliant.Tara Fitzgerald was excellent as Helen and Rupert Graves was hateful as Arthur.The costumes,music and settings are stunningly beautiful.WARNING!DON`T READ ANY MORE IF YOU HAVEN`T WATCHED THISOn the downside there are some sex scenes that have been added in and some violence.This is why the video is rated 15. There are some other things that have been thrown in.After the first part,I felt that the accuracy went downhill. While the book is better than this,I am glad I have seen it and would reccomend it to people who have read the book,are fans of Bronte or like costume dramas(I am all 3!)as long as you fastforward through the sex scenes. The book is rather underated.Anne Brontes books don`t seem to be that widely read or well known as Jane Erye or Wuthering Heights which have made it into television and film several times. Another thing.When I read the book ,I was surprised at how much religion ther was in it,but here they had axed that all out!7\10

I loved this mini series. Tara Fitzgerald did an incredible job portraying Helen Graham, a beautiful young woman hiding, along with her young son, from a mysterious past. As an anglophile who loves romances... this movie was just my cup of tea and I would recommend it to anyone looking to escape for a few hours into the England of the 1800's. I also must mention that Toby Stephens who portrays the very magnetic Gilbert Markham is reason enough to watch this wonderful production.