The cramped existence that the Jewish hideouts were forced to endure during WWII and the Nazi period, is excellently portrayed by a cast of sensitive actors who were fortunate to have a good script to work with.
Ellie Kendrick makes an excellent Anne, bearing a good resemblance to the Jewish girl who loved writing and kept a daily diary of events in the attic where her parents and a some other neighbors were forced to stay. Leslie Sharp and Nicholas Farrell as the Van Daans are particularly moving members of the strong cast.
The gradual maturity of a girl confronting her feelings about boys as she grows up is portrayed in a poignant and tender manner. The story is compelling from the start and increases in intensity as various conflicts among the attic inhabitants arouse hostility and anger.
What might have made the whole drama even more intense would be outdoor scenes outside the confines of the attic showing how the villagers were being treated by the Nazis, but since those incidents would be outside the scope of Anne's diary the drama remains intimate instead with a narrower focus.
Well worth viewing even if you've seen the big screen version made by George Stevens in 1959.
