De grandes espérances

How many retellings of the same Dickens story do we really need? Especially since none of these new adaptations do anything that David Lean's version couldn't. I'll still watch them though in the hope that they do one that does the great classic tale proud or surpasses the 1946 version.

Great Expectations (2012) comes hot off the heels of the BBC's praised 2011 three-part miniseries. This one starring Jeremy Irvine, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Holliday Grainger and Helena Bonham Carter. I actually watched this mistakenly thinking it was staring Ray Winstone but was pleasantly surprised to see Fiennes in the role instead. This version got a bit of a poor reception from what I remembered so I wasn't expecting too much to be honest, but to my surprise it was alright.

A decent effort with some moments that Lean's version didn't even include from the novel but there's something about the whole film that seems a bit made for tv movie. The acting in particular from Jeremy Irvine and Holliday Grainger is just very flat and devoid of life. Very boring performances. Helena Bonham Carter in a role that seemed almost made for her. I was sure she would impress here but didn't. She wasn't bad by any means but she didn't add anything to the Miss Havisham character. It could've been anyone else in the role and it wouldn't have made a difference.

Ralph Fiennes was excellent as expected, as always. Robbie Coltrane was a great choice for Jaggers and played the part well. Ewan Bremner shines as Wemmick. Real shame this wasn't better.

Rather so-so.

Acceptable translation of classic Dickens book with a competent direction by Mike Newell . The movie deals with an orphan child called Pip (Jeremy Irvine, though Alex Pettyfer turned down the role) meets on the dark moor an escaped convict hiding out in the Victorian English countryside called Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes) and helps him . A kindness that will change the course of Pip's life , though he doesn't realize it . Magwitch escapes and is aided by young orphan Pip ; then Magwitch discovers a fortune , which he decides to use to make him into a gentleman . Later on , at a musty mansion Pip meets an old woman , Miss Havershan (Helena Bonham Carter , though Meryl Streep was approached for the role, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts), and a beautiful girl called Stella (grown-up, a haughty beauty Holliday Grangier , though Rooney Mara turned down the role) who has been raised by the eccentric Miss Havershan . Pit suddenly becomes a gentleman with the support of an unknown benefactor and his advocate (Robbie Coltrane) . But his enemies would like to get Pip's inheritance for themselves . Meanwhile , Pip befriends Herbert Pocket (Olly Alexander) and Pip's likable flatmate .

The film is an alright adaptation based on Charles Dickens's novel , being pretty well directed by the nice director Mike Newell . In the movie there is intense drama , a love story , emotion , tragedies and is pretty entertaining , though has more style than substance . Although the images and settings are compelling , the filmmaker should have learned that beauty on the surface isn't all essential . This is a respectable but sometimes dull recounting about notorious novel , being finely performed , splendidly staged with adequate sets , stunning visuals and interesting drama of a well known story . Newell's professional retelling of Dickens tone but easily dwarfed by the classic 1946 David Lean's version . Well-acted by all , but especially by Helena Bonham Carter's slightly pathetic and mad Miss Havishan decided to wreak havoc on the male gender ; Helena stated in an interview that she wore only one shoe for the shooting , as Dickens described Miss Havisham as wearing only one shoe . Jeremy Irvine's enjoyable acting as starring , he's romantic , sympathetic , attractive but also vulnerable and memorable . Robbie Coltrane as the agreeable lawyer is top notch , and secondary cast as Ewen Bremner , Olly Alexander , Sally Hawkes , Jason Fleming , among others , are excellent . Special mention to Ralph Fiennes as the unknown benefactor who becomes Pit into a well-heeled gentleman . Atmospheric as well as colorful cinematography by John Mathieson . Evocative and sensitive musical score by Richard Hartley . Rating : Above Average . Well worth seeing for Charles Dickens lovers .

There are many adaptations about this famous novel , they result to be the followings : ¨Great expectations¨ (1943) by Stuart Walker with Phillips Holmes , Henry Hull , Jane Wyatt , Francis L Sullivan ; ¨Great expectations¨ (1946) by David Lean , considered to be the greatest version of the Charles Dickens novel with John Mills , Finlay Currie , Martita Hunt , Valerie Hobson , Alec Guinnes , Jean Simmons , Francis L Sullivan , possibly the best Dickens on film . The modern rendition by Afonso Cuaron featured by Ethan Hawke as Pit , Gwyneth Paltrow as Stella and Anne Bancroft as Miss Havershan is deemed average . And several TV adaptations and miniseries such as : 1981 with Bratford Jones and John Hickson ; 1987 The untold story with John Stanton , Sigrid Thornton , Anne Louise Lambert , 1989 by Kevin Connor with Anthony Hopkins , Jean Simmons , John Rhys Davies , 1999 by Julian Jarrold with Ioan Gruffud , Justine Waddell , Charlotte Rampling and Bernard Hill .

Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels and I have seen every screen adaptation to date. None has made more impact on me than the David Lean version. I was so looking forward to Mike Newell's version which seemed to have the perfect casting. I was though quite disappointed. Granted that it is very difficult to tell this story in a couple of hours of screen time, but that is no excuse for making a film which rushes through the events in the book without providing sufficient depth of the characters and motivation for their actions for the audience to feel empathy with them. Such a story deserves a longer screen time or alternatively cut out some of the secondary characters and provide more focus on the main characters. The film has a very "Harry Pottery" look which is no surprise since Newell made one of the films in that series. Performances are generally fine, with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter predictably stealing the main honors.

This adaptation of Great Expectations did enchant me at some points. There was a definite highlight in the relationship between Magwitch (played by Fiennes)and Pip (Irvine). The issue, however, comes with a certain lack of focus in the film: it could have centered on the gripping dynamic of those two, but instead wandered between hopeless Estella-loving Pip and confused gentleman-aspiring Pip, not choosing to dwell on the excellent depictions of rough father figure Magwitch and reluctant son Pip. The best moments involved them - from the disbelief when Pip realizes who Magwitch is to the suspense and melancholy of their later scenes.

In short, the acting was spot-on, but the story wavered. Director Newell walked a very fine line between kitschy and touching in depictions of Havisham, Estella and Pip's relationship. With Estella and Pip's main confrontation, for example, I found myself drawn in and absorbed by their emotions - but the over-the-top display of melodrama, with Estella over-symbolically torn between Havisham and Pip, quickly cut through the tension and made it veer toward the more absurd. Bonham Carter as Havisham was a good choice, but it seemed almost too obvious: she plays the part as if straight from Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE, a film she herself has compared her character to.

It was worth it to watch the excellent acting by Irvine and Fiennes. There were laughs and tension but it was all quite formulaic; and the meandering film focus, finally leading to a spotlight on Estella/Pip but without a satisfying kick in the end, did not add up to a particularly memorable film. 6/10.

You can call this a more or less faithful abridged adaptation of the book. They had to make some minor changes here and there to fit the serialised novel into the 2 hour time limit, but everything was done tastefully.

But that doesn't make it particularly good. No, since it's trying to remain faithful to a full-length novel, instead of focusing on a little here and there, the plot rushes from scene to scene to try to cram everything in. Some of the drama and richness of the characters is lost in the celerity of the presentation.

It preserves the Victorian setting very nicely, which I appreciate, so I like it better than the 2007 version. However, it really didn't need to exist. The acting or casting isn't particularly brilliant and, as I said, it's different from the book in only minor points. As it stands, it's like a poorer version of a well-known song. You'll get possibly more out of a radio drama, the cliff's notes, the South Park recreation, the TV show, or the old movie. Gratuitous and unnecessary.

If you read the book, you could have some fun seeing the characters brought to life and picking out the differences between book and film. If not, you might be confused about what's going on.

Honourable Mentions: The Grey (2011). Liam Neeson gets lost in a forest in Canadia or Alaska or something and has to fight off some wolves with his fists. If you were going to watch this movie because you thought the guy on the cover was Neeson, there's a good consolation prize for you.