Hard Times (1977)

Directed by: John Irvin | 240 minutes | drama | Actors: Patrick Allen, Timothy West, Rosalie Crutchley, Jacqueline Tong, Michelle Dibnah, Richard Wren, Alan Dobie, Ursula Howells, Barbara Ewing, Edward Fox, Sean Flanagan, Harry Markham, Peter Martin

While Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’ and ‘Great Expectations’ focus more on poverty and how children grow up without parents, in his book ‘Hard Times’ the author shows more children’s education and class divisions. In the miniseries it is made very clear by the characters that just following your mind and completely disregarding your feelings will not bring good consequences…

Father Thomas Gradgrind (Patrick Allen) is fully convinced that children benefit from learning facts and disapproves of fantasy and entertainment. With this view, he teaches children from different social strata in a school. But he also uses this approach when teaching his own children Louisa (Jaqueline Tong) and Tom (Richard Wren). Gradgrind is good friends with factory boss Josiah Bounderby who shares the same opinion.
Louisa and Tom have a hard time dealing with their father’s pedantic comments and Mr. Bounderby. A stark contrast is the arrival of the circus child Sissy Jupe (Michelle Dibnah), who takes Gradgrind into his household. Failing to successfully complete Gradgrind’s lessons, she becomes Mrs. Gradgrind. Sissy retains her character and watches with sorrow as Lousia and Tom go along completely with their father’s views, with far-reaching consequences…

The character Thomas Gradgrind is depicted in the first two parts as a rather cool and heartless character. An ironic moment of the film is how Gradgrind’s wife (Ursula Howells) on her deathbed wonders what her husband has forgotten to teach the children. As a viewer you will of course know the answer for a long time. The big question is: when will Gradgrind see for himself?

Patrick Allen portrays this stiff realist in such a way that you feel compassion for his wrong perspective of things. Opponent Timothy West as the proud Mr. Bounderby manages to achieve just the opposite. He knows how wonderfully annoying to bring the continuous repetitions of his difficult childhood and career, which makes it easy to understand why Louisa despises him so much. Jacqueline Tong knows how to play Louisa’s cool revulsion when she receives a kiss from Bounderby on request. But Tong’s ‘ordinary’ coldness in everyday life also makes Tong credible. Colleague Wren as brother Tom also manages to convey that unusual coolness.

The storyline of worker Stephen Blackpool (Alan Dobie) who has a “forbidden” love for the gentle Rachel (Barbara Ewing) runs alongside the events of the Gradgrinds at first, but slowly becomes interwoven into it. With Blackpool’s story you again get a link with the lower social class that has to compete against the better off. Although Dobie has less playing time compared to Allen, West and Tong, his portrayal remains because of the beautiful painful looks that the actor puts in his role as Stephen. Where characters like Tom and Mr. Bounderby lack of emotion, Stephen does have enough.

Other fun roles are for Edward Fox and Rosalie Crutchley. Fox thoroughly plays the character of MP Mr. James Harthouse. Harthouse manages to invade Mr. Bounderby and Louisa and has a hidden agenda. Fox’s natural charm and smooth chatter fit the character well. Fox’s colleague Crutchley is amusing as the widow and housekeeper Mrs. sparzit. Especially when Crutchley makes nefarious comments about Louisa.

‘Hard Times’ is a pleasant four-part series. This is mainly because the characters are not portrayed cartoonishly by the cast. It is possible for you as a viewer to form an emotional bond with one of the many characters. In addition, the makers have cleverly managed to create a gray and depressive atmosphere with this adaptation of ‘Hard Times’ that completely fits this story by Dickens.