Great Expectations

I have it on good authority that this is a faithful adaptation. We have the themes that have been apparent, and that have resonated, throughout the decades and centuries. It’s full of greed and loss, fortune and favour, fidelity and loyalty, deceit and lies. It’s the enduring story of the orphan Pip who rises from the marshes in Kent to become a gentleman in London. This is done with the aid of a mysterious benefactor who pays for Pip’s lifestyle as he is the young man with great expectations. He does this so whilst falling in love with the proud Estella who’s been set on her course by her adoptive mother Miss Havisham.

 In this adaptation we see muted colours; all of the characters wear blacks, blues and purples throughout. Save for Miss Havisham in her wedding finery, Pip when he arrives in London and Biddy on her wedding day. These dark colours may be the colours of the deceit and double dealing as so many of the characters play each other really and set them up for differing purposes. It all seems to be a grand exercise in vicariousness really. In some instances this is so that some characters can make up for past sins and mistakes.

We do have as well some marvellous performances on display here. Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes stand out as Miss Havisham and Abel Magwitch. Jason Fleming though deserves credit for his portrayal of the ever loyal Joe Gardery. The Finches, who appear to be a proto Bullingdon Club, come across like a group of young men that give a similar impression as the Lost Boys (who were once the most annoying vampires in history).

There is a general rightness about this film, in the casting, the tone; it’s the right adaptation for this age. Interestingly this is now the fourth adaptation of this story in thirteen years. I thought walking into the cinema that the poster seems to evoke the tone of the 1946 David Lean version and this was reflected in the way Ralph Fiennes threatened to slit Pip’s throat. We kind of know that Magwitch won’t do this but we can see that Pip acts in kindness in fear and eventually with Joe’s influence, which sets him on his way to be the man he eventually becomes. It’s to Mike Newell’s credit that the story breathes and is able to be told.