EXPECT DRAMA
Director Mike Newell brings us one of the year’s best films
Great Expectations ★★★★
DIRECTOR Mike Newell ( Dance with a Stranger, Four Weddings and a Funeral) has tackled a new film version of Great Expectations, based on the 13th novel written by Charles Dickens. He has created an elegant and passionate melodrama about the young orphan Pip.
Dickens had an appalling childhood filled with fear, poverty and violence. He poured these dark memories into this story, which is generally believed to be the most personal he wrote.
Anyone who has read Dickens knows he loved intricate plots, filled with surprises and revelations, but for the purposes of this review, there are three things to note.
The first is that as a child, Pip was cared for by Joe (Jason Flemyng), his legal guardian. Joe’s wife (Sally Hawkins) disliked Pip and made his life a misery. While walking on the beach to escape her, Pip is accosted by an escaped prisoner, Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes).
Pip is so moved by the man’s plight that he steals food from his fearsome stepmother and gives it to the convict. Pip’s act of kindness changes the path of his destiny when he is given the promise of a better life filled with “great expectations”.
The second crucial character is Estella (Holliday Grainger), an orphan who is the ward of the neurotic Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter, whose performance is one of her best). Young Pip is invited to visit Miss Havisham and to play with Estella — with unexpected consequences.
The third crucial character is Mr Jaggers (Robbie Coltrane), a devious lawyer who enters the life of the adult Pip (played by Jeremy Irvine). The cynical Jaggers observes how easily Pip is drawn into a world where selfish young men indulge in liquor and squander their money without considering the consequences.
The richest part of the story is the relationship between Estella and Pip. As they grow up, their love for each other is poisoned by the vindictive Miss Havisham as she toys with their emotions and their lives.
The core of the story is that neither Pip nor Estella really knows where they came from. Their lives have been manipulated by people driven by greed and malice. When they finally understand the truth of their origins, they can begin their life together with honest emotions and new hope.
Newell packs skill and grace into the film and, for me, Great Expectations is one of the best releases of 2013.