I have never read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, nor
have I seen any other movie versions, so I have nothing to compare this movie
to. That being said I really liked this movie.
Like most Dickens movies they did a really good job at
showing the grittier and less romanticized side of Victorian England. The whole
movie had a dark tone to it and, like many Dickens stories, there were plenty
of plot twists and unknown connections between the characters.
The thing that really made this movie enjoyable was all of
the side characters that revolve around Pip, like his brother-in-law Joe and
the creepy Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham is my favorite character. Helena
Bonham-Carter did a magnificent job playing this sad and disturbed woman, and
it wasn’t over the top crazy like it could have been. Pip was a good main
character, but he was annoying at times due to his new found wealth and place
in society. I couldn’t completely like him because of it, but it was certainly realistic
and in the end he did become a character I could respect.
It’s hard to fit a complex book into 2 hours of film. While
it is a good movie you can tell that there’s plenty missing, whether it be the
finer details of the characters and their relationships, or what seems like
time gaps. It does the best that it can with the time that it has.
This movie acts as an introduction to the characters and
plot of Great Expectations and I’m looking forward to reading the novel
someday.
-Christina
Haven't read (or watched) it either, so glad you enjoyed it. :) And Helena Bonham-Carter is great at whatever she does. Well, with what I've seen her in anyway. And yeah, it's hard to fit everything within a two hour limit, that's mainly why I prefer the books rather the films. Except for Harry Potter, I love them both. :)
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