(My comments refer to the version aired on television.) I had read Caroline Alexander's book when I watched this. I was looking forward to it but found myself very disappointed -- Kenneth Branagh (ick), [bad] dialogue, the portrayal of Tom Crean as some kind of quaint Irish sidekick rather than as the indispensable and experienced leader he proved to be....Maybe it's just not possible to do a good "dramatization" of this story -- it's so dramatic and visceral on its own terms that anything else feels phony and watered-down.