Great expectations are dashed yet again
Great Expectations Starring Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Jeremy Irvine, Jason Flemyng, Ewen Bremner, Holliday Grainger, Olly Alexander. Screenplay by David Nicholls, directed by Mike Newell. 128 minutes, rated M (violence and content that may disturb) . Showing at Light House Pauatahanui cinema.
Despite being the ninth adaptation of Great Expectations for cinema or television, there was cause to hope Mike Newell’s version would distinguish itself.
An accomplished jack- ofall- genres, Newell directed arguably Britain’s finest romantic comedy in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), the best non-Scorsese modern gangster flick in Donnie Brasco (1997), and the most entertaining of the Harry Potter series – The Goblet of Fire (2005).
Okay, less said about Prince of Persia the better, but ‘‘best contemporary Dickens’ adaptation’’ would still have been a reasonable expectation.
Sadly, his Great Expectations is merely proficient, one more unremarkable shape in the shadow of David Lean’s 1946 classic, which starred John Mills and Valerie Hobson.
For those not familiar with Charles Dickens’ second most famous orphan, the story concerns the quite fantastic and contrived elevation of pauper Pip Pirrup (Jeremy Irvine) who is plucked from the dour marshes of Kent to become a dandy London gentleman thanks to a mysterious benefactor.
Much of the plot is pinned to two crucial events in Pip’s childhood; his aiding an escaped convict (Ralph Fiennes) hiding out in the marshes, and his introduction to the higher classes via the eccentric Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter) and her icy ward Estella (Helena Barlow/ Holliday Grainger).
Familiar Dickens themes – social class, crime, coming of age, ambition and retribution – loom large as Pip struggles to retain his virtues among the haughty rich and win the affection of Estella.
I’ve always found the contrivances of Great Expectations – by the end every character seems to have a shared past with one another – hard to stomach, but it remains an intriguing study of morality and human manipulation.
Pip and Estella are a tough ask for the young leads Irvine and Grainger, neither character is very endearing and scenes together to establish chemistry are few and far between.
Among the supporting cast both Fiennes and Bonham Carter have fun chewing the scenery.
Miss Havisham, a heartbroken shut- in who still wears the rags of her wedding dress, is always Great Expectations’ most evocative character.
In many ways the offbeat Bonham Carter is the perfect match, but given we’ve seen this actress embody very similar roles, and wear similar attire, in Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd and Harry Potter, it dulls Miss Havisham’s impact.