Overview
The Woman in White (1997) is a BBC television adaptation based on the 1859 novel of the same name by Wilkie Collins. Unlike the epistolary style of the novel, the 2-hour dramatisation uses Marian as the main character. She bookends the film with her narration. It was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Serial in 1998.
Plot
Marian Fairlie (Tara Fitzgerald) and Laura Fairlie (Justine Waddell) are half-sisters (same father but different mothers). Laura's mother died, leaving Laura an inheritance which she will receive when she comes of age. They both live in Limmeridge with their uncle, Mr. Fairlie (Ian Richardson), who hires a new tutor, Walter Hartright (Andrew Lincoln). Marian tells Hartright that she and Laura are very close, agree in everything and refuse to be taught separately.
On the night Mr. Hartright arrives at Limmeridge, he bumps into a woman in white. She speaks cryptically, and inquires if he is to stay with the Fairlies. When a carriage arrives, she runs off. Mr. Gilmore, the Fairlies' attorney, tells him that the woman must have been a villager. When Hartright meets the two sisters, he mistakes Laura for the woman in white because of the strong resemblance.
As Mr. Hartright teaches the sisters, he grows especially fond of Laura. However, Marian makes it clear to him that her sister is already engaged to Sir Percival Glyde. Though she senses that something is not quite right, she cannot find fault in Sir Percival, who is kind, attentive, and rich. Laura and Mr. Hartright acknowledge their feelings for each other, but they cannot be together. Marian asks Hartright's help in tracking down the woman in white. Hartright agrees to stay outside at night to lure the woman in white. One night, Marian sees a servant girl rush out from the woods, screaming for help. Right behind her is Mr. Hartright, whom she accuses of trying to rape her. (The servant has been paid off by Glyde to frame Hartright.) Hartright is immediately disgraced and sent away, but not before he warns Laura that she is in great danger. Laura ignores him and marries Glyde.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).