I'm not ashamed to say that in literary terms I'm quite naive; Shakespeare and Dickens works for the most part evade me. My slight thirst to investigate these two apparent geniuses of storytelling is little helped by the fact that movie and TV adaptations (with the exception of A Christmas Carol or Scrooge as its commonly known) to me are more often than not abysmal. I guess that while being defined in some ways, my cultural tastes are lacking in others. My crash course with 1998's Great Expectations however (A movie I had purchased upon the strength of bearing the name Robert De Niro) left me a little more open minded.
If you cannot get your head around the literary classics and their transition to celluloid form then Great Expectations is the ultimate place to start. This movie has been adapted from the best selling novel in the cleverest of ways, focusing on not only the romance but the sexually charged frustration of mind games with someone you're infatuated with. And then the movie goes beyond this level and displays a further story of misunderstanding, and a love that goes deeper than physical affection.
As a child Finn Bell finds himself scouring the beaches of Florida in search of inspiration for his great passion, Art. It's these quests that put him in the unenviable position of meeting convict Stanley Lustig (Robert De Niro). Lustig puts the fear of god in Finn explaining that if he does not help Lustig on his quest for freedom
the side effects will be devastating. Like many children Lustig has prayed on those worrying emotions and reluctantly Finn tries to help escaped prisoner Lustig on his search for freedom.
It's during this same period of time that a gardening job with his father causes Finn to make another manipulative acquaintance in the form of Ms. Dinsmoor (the late Anne Bancroft). Dinsmoor asks Finn to visit regularly to be a play friend for her daughter Estella, and so for a period of 10 years an unusual development arrangement is struck.
On the verge of Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow's) departure from Florida (now a young woman) to study in New York, that this friendship takes a different turn. What began as friendship seemingly becomes more literally overnight. But what good would this tale be if it all ended happily so soon?
Hurt and distressed Finn (Ethan Hawke) makes his way to New York now a young man himself, to study his passion for art; but maybe to win over the love of his life too.
Great Expectations is a visual masterpiece (In my eyes at least) its blend of traditional storytelling, erotic titillation, and a scorching soundtrack made Great Expectations my best viewing during its release year.
Poor man's Tom Cruise, Ethan Hawke not only proves he can act, but I guess delivers himself as a sex symbol off the back of this movie. Scarcely triggering anyone's Richter scale overnight everyone was talking about Hawke, unfortunately one great performance as we all know is not enough to secure you a great future in Hollywood. Hawke's at times geeky portrayal gives us guys the opportunity to relate to his plight. Personally speaking I encountered a similar form of twisted seduction in my developing years, so watching him here was almost like looking into a window of my life. Finn however comes off far worse than most people as Estella plays maliciously with his heartstrings. One moment Finn has it all the next he is a hopeless loser.
Great Expectations trigger is buried in eroticism, at first it's up front about it, but then it tries playing hard to get by teasing the viewer and Finn by an increasingly frustrating serious of encounters. Estella carelessly plays this incredible power trip on Finn allowing him to see and often feel what he wants, without necessarily standing a chance of getting this. From the first night of intimate touching, to posing nude for his art Estella's game is something well thought out; and for most of the movie it's difficult to understand the games purpose (not due to poor direction, but down to clever delivery).
The source of Estella's control comes from Dinsmoor, quirkily played by Bancroft, in what I believe to be her finest performance. Here Dinsmoor plays a similar controlling role to that of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, firstly delivering and then taking away. Her quirkiness from first glance becomes increasingly more controlling, and finally becomes more twisted than anything else. Finn was a plaything in her mind to allow Estella to understand how to not only take control, but to seriously get the upper hand; something that Dinsmoor certainly practised herself.
The deepest, strongest, and most painful relationship of all is between Finn and Lustig. This relationship spreads out over many years, and despite its only minor inclusion into the story, becomes in my mind the most prominent thing. This tragic relationship is doomed from the offset, but from a viewing point of view if any aspect of this movie will drive you to tears then this is the thing that will. De Niro's performance is at times warm, but at others deeply terrifying his chant of "Whisper, Whisper, WHISPER!" will carry through your head long after the movie has finished, as chilling as any Hopkins portrayal of Hannibal Lector.
I should add a quick note about Paltrow, this girl really rocks in this movie. A 100% serious role that not only shows you that beauty that seems to have been missing from her more recent performances, but you also get to understand that she is a magnificent and often misunderstood actress. There is no warm blooded man that would turn his back on Paltrow here; she's as hot and sensual as you have ever seen her, and for something she has carried off so well I'm amazed we have not seen more similar provocative performances by her.
I should also touch on that soundtrack, never have I heard something so classically amazing. A combination of orchestral and chilled out themes make this movies score positively epic. And if your watching in surround sound, crank up your speakers when Finn chases through New York's streets to fight for not only what he wants, but what he deserves. The accompanying score with this scene known as Kissing In The Rain is one of the most powerful I have heard in 20 years
Great Expectations has firmly made its way to be one of my favourite movies of all time, combining all the factors that for me make a movie really great.
The DVD has no special features, but is released on Fox's budget DVD range for about £5 pretty much anywhere. If you've not seen this 1998 version, the n once you've finished reprimanding yourself why not invest in a copy, or at the very least add it to your rental list. Great Expectations scores 10 out of 10 for me on all levels.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2003 - Drama - Director: Michael Winterbottom - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Tim Robbins, Samantha Morton, Om Puri, Jeanne Balibar
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
I picked this up just now in the Post Office (closing down) for £1.25, intially as a joke to send to a friend as we read the book at school....but having read your review I think i'll watch it myself and buy him another copy tomorrow - think I might be able to afford it!
silverstreak 26.10.2007 11:13
Things have certainly changed since I read this at school!
eve6kicksass 25.10.2007 12:27
I agree 100% that the film is visually stunning and extremely well acted, though I think the 1946 British version (with John Mills and Alec Guiness) is still the definitive version of the novel. Another fine review there! Chris :)
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Oct 15th, 2007
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