Great Expectations (2013)

When you look at the cast list for this film you expect something that maybe won't topple David Lean's version of Dickens' classic novel, but at least will be equal to it.It's even more disappointing then at just how far short this adaptation falls. From some examples of poor casting, to some odd story additions/cuts, this version did not do a lot of me.Even the seemingly perfect casting of Helena Bonham Carter falls short, and that was the main selling point for this version going in. I did like that this version didn't make the same mistake as the 2011 TV series did and cut Biddy though.It's a real shame, because this could and should've been great.

Before the review starts I must say that it might be a little biased. Coming from another country, before I saw the movie I had never heard of the book (maybe the title once or twice in a different translation) or any of the movie adaptations. For everyone else I suspect it wasn't as interesting as it was to me.The movie is about a boy, Pip, who gets in the possession of some money and coming from a poor background, goes on to become a gentleman in London.The movie is filled with a very well-known cast, e.g. Helena Bonham Carter and Jeremy Irvine, and directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). As seen from previous movies, everyone delivers a remarkable performance, especially Carter with the wounded character of Miss Havisham (there's a good twist around the end involving her). Another great stand out was Holliday Grainger in the role of Estella. I loved her, and will be definitely looking at what projects she chooses in the future. It was a nice surprise when she appeared in Anna Karenina (2012), and although just for a couple of seconds, she played her part there very well too.The story, although I've never heard of it, is a classic. It's handled very well, and the love story too. Two people that were never meant to be together. Even though Estella is trying to push Pip away, Pip always comes back. There is definitely chemistry between the two.The sets and costumes were another high point of the movie. The women's wear in particular worked very well for the time period in which the story is set. The depiction of 1980s London was very graphic and very well done. Nothing seemed CGI, and all the sets looked very realistic.Every movie has a flaw, and nearly every time it's the pace. The movie did slow down around the middle, after Pip arrives in London and settles down. Not much happened.I recommend this to most movie fans looking for a good drama. Fans of the story will probably dig the new adaptation too. Enjoy.Acting - 10/10 Costumes - 10/10 Pace - 8/10 Sets - 10/10Overall - 9/10

I know it sounds stupid but I was expecting this version of Great Expectations to be more modern. This movie feels tiresome and just another period piece remake of a Charles Dickens's novel. Where is the new interpretation? Is it so hard to think outside the box. There are already at least 6 versions of this movie that are completely identical, do we need another...I think not.I genuinely attempted to enjoy this movie but it felt dated and drawn out. Honestly there does not seem to be enough subject matter to warrant a 2 hour movie. The trend of thinking a good movie needs to be over 2 hours nowadays is actually hurting the storytelling and flow of what should be great movies.I will give Helena Bonham Carter credit though as she livens up the movie a little but even she doesn't have the acting chops to save this sinking ship.

1812, England. The young orphan Pip, who lives in the countryside with her sister's family , after giving food to a fugitive which is then recaptured by the guards, is summoned to the residence of a rich lady. She lives without ever looking at the sunlight after a sentimental trauma and wants Pip to play along with another girl, Estella, who lives in the castle of which he falls madly in love. Decades later Pip will be informed that an unknown benefactor will take care of him and he has to go to London to become a gentleman. It will be in the big city , once accepted the new status, where the many mysteries will begin to be revealed. Mike Newell, director of Four Weddings and a Funeral ( and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) adapts a script author of One Day ( book and film) from " Great Expectations " by Charles Dickens. The melange of styles , influences, personal inclinations and strengths of each of the heads that have made possible this new Great Expectations is aimed at classical and faithful rendition of the book but ends up taking a turn more romantic than historical , more centered on the stories love ( that of Pip and Estella to Miss Havisham that ended badly ) and personal relationships ( the bromance deep and emotional between Pip and the blacksmith Joe Gargery ) rather than the interweaving of the plot, the action of the final or contrast among the many classes that were being consolidated in England in the first half of 800 . The Jeremy Irvine's Pip , however, is not an ambitious climber as in the book but more an astonished witness to the horrors of the fashionable upper classes . Newell removes the voice-over that adaptations in the past had often translated the first-person narrative of the book and move a few episodes from forward to reverse over time while remaining very faithful to the book as a whole, it contains the most important phrases along with large chunks . What crease instead is what he does best , i.e. telling lightly ( and apparently without giving importance ) the way in which feelings affect the actions of the characters . Everything that happens in his Great Expectations is caused by an exaggerated sentimentality (both infinite gratitude , a deep hatred , dignity incorruptible or a undying love ) , also plans warps with more mathematical calculation , but this is never the center of the film, as a natural order of things that rule life. Without providing scenes of great impact ( like the one where Pip let the light into the decadent residence to free Estella Havisham , closing the large version of the 1946 David Lean ) this latter recurrence , because of its sentimental push, aims more on the landscapes and characters, like photography and acting, focusing on the actors and the places in which they are added to give a new meaning to an old story. The result is a great illustration and a small film. There are some of the most significant places in which two sincere friends can rest caressed by the wind , dark fortresses of cobwebs from which sprout angelic faces and crannies of the city of fetid wood ready to become the metropolis of steel, but the story is weak and the dynamism the book is lost in the continuous chase dismayed faces of the actors rather than the many twist of history.Overall an enjoyable movie, very well acted and beautifully shot. (p.s. you will definitely enjoy it more if you haven't read the C. Dickens book)