We watched this on dvd the other night, having missed it for some reason on the big screen. I warned my other half that 'there will be a lot of talking in it, it will be complicated but low key, and you'll probably doze off.'
   Well, two out of three ain't bad.
   Having read the book when it first came out, and watched the TV adaptation some years ago, I knew what to expect and vaguely felt this version wouldn't live up to its predecessors. I was wrong. The brilliant cast swept everything along very smoothly. The plot, as far as I can recall, is pretty much untouched and if anything comes over more clearly than previously (no bad thing). If I have any criticism to make, it's that the director maybe didn't make the best use of his star cast: some of the bog names barely got a look in and you wondered why they were there at all. But it's a minor complaint. I thought this was a terrific adaptation.
   Oh, and Ivy stayed awake the whole time, so that just showed me.