A Tale of Two Cities (2001)

Accomplished performances support the intelligent script of this 1989 TV adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities. The central themes of the novel--altruism, romantic love, perverted justice, the abuse of power, and the tragedy of alcoholism--all receive the attention they deserve in this faithful, three-hour-plus production. Veteran actors Jean-Pierre Aumont (Dr. Alexandre Manette) and John Mills (Jarvis Lorry) ennoble the film with their portrayals of two old men, one given to bouts of hysteria and confusion and the other given to attacks of wisdom and generosity. Like two iron bookends, they keep the plot and subplots plumb while rubbing gravitas on fellow actors. The rest of the cast performs admirably as English and French commoners and aristocrats caught up in the best of times and the worst of times. Among the memorable moments in the well-paced film are the entertaining Old Bailey trial of Charles Darnay (Xavier Deluc); a traffic accident in which a haughty noble hies his carriage and kills a peasant boy, then offers a coin as recompense; the sight of starving peasants converging on a puddle of wine after a cask falls from a wagon and breaks; and the touching climax in which Sydney Carton (James Wilby) does his "far, far better thing." A minor weakness of the film is the staging of outdoor scenes. Because the production was filmed in Bordeaux and Manchester, not Paris and London, everything takes place in narrow alleyways or public squares against a backdrop of unfamiliar landmarks. Overall, though, the film does justice to the Dickens novel in its depiction of one of history's most important epochs. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide