This is the celebrated tale of a boy being elevated from his menial life in a smithy by a mysterious benefactor, to be brought up in London as a 'gentleman', among a largely odious bunch of Hooray Henrys. His required attendance on the enigmatic and embittered Miss Havisham who entertains herself by making him associate with the snobbish and spoilt Estella to whom he finds himself increasingly attracted - unrequited love, his see-saw of fortunes, revealed identities - all these are the ingredients of a quite masterful story, certainly one of the author's very best - and that really is saying something!
The film has a good momentum, fine location shooting, very atmospheric and a good cast among whom I would single out Jason Flemyng, totally convincing as Pip's uneducated uncle Joe Gargery.
Now, as to the ubiquitous Helena Bonham Carter, whom even I thought was far too young for the role of Miss Havisham, a character I think we all see as a senile, wizened beldam (and made even more of a substantial part in this film than she is in the novel) - I heard an interview with her only last week when that very point was put. She explained, quite convincingly, that if one worked out her age from what Dickens reveals about her late in the novel, she would be unlikely to have been aged mid-40s at most. I've checked this out and I'm inclined to agree. H.B.C. suggests that we have become so dependent on thinking of the character portrayed in visual representations, films and TV adaptations as a brittle and hardened old crone that we take this as Dickens' vision too. (Mind you, if the author had got his own calculations wrong, it would be by no means a unique case!) I'm prepared to accept that what she says is true, and next time I read 'Gt.Exp.' I'll bear it in mind.
My only real complaint (yet again) is the insistent music which tries to dictate the emotions we should be feeling at any given point. But it's not a serious blemish on an otherwise very worthy adaptation..............7/10
I have never really liked HBC .....well until I saw her in THE KINGS SPEECH, in which she was quite lovely....
ReplyDeletenot a lover of Dickens but may well give this a go
J.G., I wanted to say in the above posting (but thought better of it for reasons of space), that I do find it very difficult to see this actress as anything other than the Merchant/Ivory characters she played 20-25 years ago - all demure with bottled up, unexpressed emotions. That demeanour always hangs over her, rather in the manner that Julie Andrews was always hamstrung by an image of Maria v.T.
DeleteWhen H.B.C. tries to play sluttish, irascible or anything requiring a huge range of emotion, for me it's never convincing, which is a pity. But I agree, she WAS good in 'The King's Speech' - looking uncannily like the young Queen Mother.
I'd recommend this film - do go if you get the chance, but it's starting to fizzle away from our screens now. I just caught it on its last local screening.
I will be interested in seeing her as Madam Thednadiar in Les Miserables
ReplyDeleteAs you say, J.G., it will be 'interesting' - though here again, being required to play a vulgar character totally at odds with an image of her I cannot dismiss from my mind, I might have the same struggle I had with Sweeney Todd.
DeleteSpeaking of which, I have high hopes for Sacha Baron Cohen as Monsieur Thenardier, so very good in Sweeney, and who is turning out to have a talent for producing an amazing range of characters.
Now you're talking about a film I wanna see! :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat expectations was never my favorite Dickens, probably because it was force fed to us in High School when I was not mature enough for it. I should reread it of course; I hope to reread Dickens throughout my life to find new things each time.
At last, Dr Spo, I've given you an appraisal of something you'd genuinely be interested in seeing. I'm very curious to know what you, a Dickens connoisseur, make of this film.
DeleteWe also did this book at school and then, at the age of 13/14 it was a huge bore for me - as was Shakespeare. But giving both authors another try in late adolescence, the light dawned - though Dickens had to wait as late as my 40s before I REALLY got to appreciate him. As you say, both writers have such depths that one goes on and on discovering jewels one didn't notice on a precious encounter.