Official Synopsis
After an orphaned, blacksmith’s apprentice inherits a fortune from an anonymous benefactor, he moves to London – and towards a promising future. But the machinations of a bitter heiress (Bonham Carter) seem to put the beautiful young woman (Holliday Grainger) he loves forever out of his reach.
One quality I have always admired about director Mike Newell is his ability to juggle multiple characters in a movie and develop them all quite well. Four Weddings and a Funeral stands as a fine example of Newell’s ability to keep the story on track, while creating and distributing enough screen time for his many characters to develop into individuals the audience cares about. He always seems to find time for this, even in his very constrained version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
That’s why I’m a bit shocked about his direction and adaption of Great Expectations. Newell and screenwriter David Nicholls seem to be in some sort of rush to get through the Dickens’ masterpiece, sacrificing moments that should develop not only the characters, but also the emotional storylines that our favorite orphan Pip needs to go through.
The movie starts off really well, as Pip is accosted by escaped convict Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes) for food and drink. Pip, who apparently thinks the threats of a convict are nothing compared to the threats of Mrs. Joe, helps Magwitch in getting what he wants, an action that Magwitch never forgets. You understand in the blink of an eye why Pip has no fear of Magwitch after you see Pip’s brief interaction with Mrs. Joe before and after Magwitch’s introduction. This is a marvelous way to start a story.
Then things seem to get in a rush for no apparent reason. We jump into Pip meeting Miss Havisham for the first time (Helena Bonham Carter) and his rough interaction with Estella, who wouldn’t give a single drop of spit to if Pip was on fire. After Estella’s introduction, a few incidents occur, and Pip is banned from Havisham’s house. Pip then suddenly grows up and is the recipient of a large sum of money from a mysterious benefactor.
It really happens that quick.
The lack of build between Pip, Estella and Havisham begins to decay the movie. You never fully get Havisham’s cruel emotional game she plays on Pip. If I remember anything about my 10th grade reading of Great Expectations, it’s that Havisham is methodically defined as a character with cruel intentions against Pip. Dickens’ story really lays that particular Havisham quality on thick. Heck, even the 1998 adaption of the story from director Alfonso Cuarón gets Havisham’s cruelty across pretty well.
And Havisham’s cruelty isn’t important to define just to define her. Havisham’s development is vital because it’s a direct reflection of how Havisham has shaped Estella to be towards men. If she isn’t fully explained through actions then that emotional payoff between Estella and Pip simply isn’t there. Havisham is an extremely important character to get right, otherwise we can’t properly cheer for the young couple at the end to get together. That lack of development completely ruins future emotion strain between our main leads.
Continuing with the story, as the movie progresses, we quickly see Pip go from future blacksmith to gentleman and eventually back to his old roots. It’s all so quick and so much that the end of the film really just fizzles instead of loudly popping to the viewer’s emotions. The ride in this story should be cruel, unforgiving and straining to every emotional fiber in the audience’s mind, but nothing is built or developed well enough to get to that point. By the end of Pip’s adventures, we want to feel as emotionally exhausted as he’s supposed to look, but we never get there because there just wasn’t enough time to develop the world in which Pip resides.
Dickens wove an engaging, tough and rough story with Great Expectations. He took his time to make sure everyone played their role properly. Newell and Nicholls version can’t compare to the original story because of their need to cut important character develop out in exchange for powerful moments. That development creates those moments, which is where this version of the story misses completely.
With that said, all is not lost with this adaption.
The positives in the film come through the environments Newell and crew have set this story in and how contained (and real) they keep it. For example, London is represented as this nasty, filthy place where the poor get stepped on in the mud by the rich trying to get to their next gentleman’s party. It’s glorious as it is disgusting, which makes it the perfect setting for the majority of the film.
Even the lonely marsh area that houses Joe and his lonely, poor life is beautifully established. The difference between it and London are visually appealing and help establish characters.
The world that Newell and crew have created for their characters could not have been more perfect. It’s a spectacle that fits perfectly with Dickens’ story.
As for the acting, if the screenplay had not failed the actors then they would have potentially made the best version of Great Expectations to date — which would have added another gem to the BBC production treasure chest of films/shows. Ralph Fiennes is brilliant as Magwitch. Bonham Carter, as discussed above, is frightening and cruel as Havisham. Josaon Flemyng is perfect as usual as Joe (love this guy). Jeremy Irvine did a fantastic job portraying the calm and caring Pip. Rounding out the bunch, Robbie Coltrane is fierce and calculating as Jaggers. All of their performances couldn’t save this film from itself, but they’re a joy to watch regardless.
While I might seem hard on this adaption of Great Expectations, it’s not the worst version of it. The acting and the setting for the film is certainly worth the watch. It’s another BBC visual masterpiece, which also helps. I just wish there had been a bit more emotional payoff at the end and less rush. Had some gaps been filled, less story shaved then this could have been really great. As it stands, it’s decent at best.
What is great about this release is the Blu-ray portion of it. You get a lot of visual details in the transfer of this movie to HD. The introduction to London brings out these details, even when you don’t want them — see the meat for example, and helps to bring the nasty and sometimes beautiful world of Great Expectations to life. There isn’t any graininess or artifact issues with this Blu-ray. You don’t have any compression issues or color banding in the darker scenes. It’s quite a solid visual piece of film in HD.
Finally, as for features, you get a nice piece on the film’s premiere, which includes interviews with cast and crew. Beyond that you get a trailer. This is one of those releases that would have benefited from some commentary, but alas it did not get that feature. A little bit lean in the special features department as a whole, but the premiere footage actually does help to fill in some intentions on the movie.