First a confession: I
have never read Great
Expectations. Yes, this may seem tragic, but Dickens' novel has
never been on my book list. With only a brief notion of the plot, I came
to Mike Newell's adaptation blind.
Yet even without reading the novel, it's clear that
large swathes of the plot are missing. The bare bones are present and
easy enough to follow, but there's about as much detail as a Wikipedia plot
summary. Dickens originally wrote the piece for his weekly journal and
whilst the film follows a similarly episodic structure, it speeds along at a
swift pace allowing little screen time for narrative development or character
motivation. The script, too, has little Dickensian
eloquence, even missing out some key quotes (so I’m told). Cramming such a dense novel into two hours has
turned a richly layered narrative into a fractured, limp shell.
It’s a very nice
looking shell though. Vast English estates,
mist smothered marshland and endless shingle beaches predominate the first
half, whilst the narrative turn to the city reveals a detailed vision of London
that we can practically smell and taste.
Miss Havisham’s estate perfectly illustrates a sense of decaying beauty –
gothic architecture strangled by overgrown gardens, dusty interiors speckled
with subtle lighting. This is to be
expected from the director of Harry Potter
and the Goblet of Fire, the similarities are clear.
Sadly Helena
Bonham-Carter’s depiction of Miss Havisham doesn’t live up to her
surroundings. Frail and small beneath
her rag-like bridal gown, she simply plays her usual wide-eyed witchy self. Ralph Fiennes brings some Shakespearean
intensity to Magwitch, Jeremy Irvine is intentionally wet as the boyish Pip, Hollyday
Grainger gives a poised performance as Estella and Olly Alexander is comically
camp as Herbert. Their costumes were
extravagant and almost cartoonish – particularly the quiffed young gentleman –
only underlining the diminished caricature on show. Prior knowledge of the novel is not necessary
to see that the film’s narrative is too shallow to allow any depth of
characterisation. Like Miss Havisham,
these cinematic characters were merely ghosts of their literary counterparts.
2/5
Watch: Great Expectations is on general release
from 30th November.
