Great Expectations
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Jeremy Irvine, Holliday Grainger.
Reviewed by Ben Carey.

[rating: 3.5/5]

Dickens’ classic novel has had countless adaptations into film, television, and the stage; some of these adaptations have been popular, some not; some have been critically acclaimed, and some torn apart. The latest adaptation is a BBC sanctioned, star-studded affair directed by the prolific Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Donnie Brasco).

A humble farm boy, Pip (Irvine), inherits some money and property in London from an unknown benefactor. He moves there to follow his childhood dream of becoming a gentleman and wooing his childhood sweetheart, Estella (Grainger), the adopted child of Miss Havisham (Bonham Carter). London, however, proves to be a frantic and alien place to the farm boy and he faces many challenges becoming accustomed to the big city and the lifestyle of being a gentleman.

Ralph Fiennes is fantastic as always as Magwich and really steals the show. But I think the whole cast is fairly strong. Helena Bonham Carter is great as Mrs Havisham, but then again, crazy old ladies with frizzy hair are kind of her thing right? Irvine plays a good Pip, maybe a little too classically good looking for the role, but I’m sure the ladies in the audience won’t have many qualms with that. Finally, adult Estella’s hair (Grainger’s hair I should say) is amazing, her acting is pretty good too, but her hair, good lord, it’s a freaking wonder of the world and I commend the hair people and the 12 hours a day it took them to craft it.

The only real negative I have about the film is to do with pacing (as with most movies). The first three quarters of the film is paced quite nicely, but the last quarter feels quite rushed. As this section is the most important part of all it really would have paid to have spent a little more time on it. As it stands I felt quite overwhelmed, but not in a good way. I also think that many of the finer details were lost.

I think Great Expectations is a fine movie. I can’t speak as far as a book adaptation goes because I haven’t read it the whole way through yet, but as a film I thought it was captivating, intriguing, and very beautiful. I also loved the way all the little plot points tie in together. Although it has some issues with pace and you may feel a little intellectually assaulted near the end, I still feel this is a film worth watching.