“Great Expectations” (1999)

Great Expectations

Brief Description:

A young boy called Pip stumbles upon a hunted criminal who threatens him and demands food. A few years later, Pip finds that he has a benefactor. Imagining that Miss Havisham, a rich lady whose adopted daughter Estella he loves, is the benefactor, Pip believes in a grand plan at the end of which he will be married to Estella...

(from Wikipedia)

Date: 1999

Genre: period drama television serial adaptation

Running time: 2 hours 48 minutes (2 episodes)

Cast: 

Ioan Gruffudd: Pip

Gabriel Thomson: Young Pip

Justine Waddell: Estella

Gemma Gregory: Young Estella

Emma Cunniffe: Biddy

Laura Aikman: Young Biddy

Charlotte Rampling: Miss Havisham

Bernard Hill: Magwitch

Clive Russell: Joe

Lesley Sharp: Mrs. Joe

Ian McDiarmid: Jaggers

Laila Morse: Molly

Daniel Evans: Herbert Pocket

Laurence Dobiesz: Young Herbert

James Hillier: Bentley Drummle

Tony Curran: Orlick

Nicholas Woodeson: Wemmick

Director: Julian Jarrold

Production company: BBC Worldwide & WGBH

Based on: 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Wikipedia page

Watched on Tubi

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5

I had my eye on this and finally watched it because Tubi was about to take it away (same as Tenant of Wildfell Hall, haha). I'm so glad I did, because I loved it! The setting and aesthetic was so beautiful and felt very accurate—I loved the victorian dresses, of course. Satis House was perfect, and I loved the scenery around Pip's house. The soundtrack was good too!

Characters: 5/5

Pip was perfect. Young Pip and Older Pip—perfect. Gruffudd looked and acted like Pip. I loved it. Justine Waddell didn't fit my idea of Estella at all, but she was very pretty and I enjoyed her acting. Russell was basically perfect as Joe; and Lesley Sharp was the PERFECT Mrs. Joe—I never realized what a horrid person she was, though I've read the book so often. Emma Cunniffe as Biddy was awesome; Miss Havisham (Charlotte Rampling) was somehow horribly young and horribly old—excellent; and Magwitch (Hill) made my skin crawl at first, and then made me so terribly sad... just like in the book. Evans as Herbert was awesomeeee and though I don't remember Drummle well, Hillier made me hate him as much as I should. The only cast problem I really had was McDiarmid as Jaggers—so, so wrong. He had Jaggers' personality, somewhat, but really didn't look or act like the man. And Woodeson was not a very good Wemmick. But Curran was the perfect Orlick. Ugh. 

Plot: 5/5

I have read the book many times, so I'm fairly familiar with the plot. I was delighted by how close they stuck to it! Naturally they had to pick and choose their scenes, but they did so well. The only added scene I disliked was when Pip got drunk at the ball, fought with Estella, and insulted Drummle, which I don't recall happening...? I think there was another added scene I wasn't a fan of because it was confrontational but I forget it. They changed the ending a bit, so it was pretty open-ended (clever) and they may have added a couple more confrontational scenes, but overall it was very accurate and I loved that they even added Wemmick's romance. 

Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5

Like the book, this film highlights that women can be domestic abusers as well as men can. And I love how like the book, it also highlight that revenge hurts no one more than oneself and you often fall in the pit you dug for someone else. Also, it brought back to mind the importance of not living above your means 😆 

Romance: 5/5

Since Pip & Estella don't officially get together, there's not a very strong romance line; but Herbert & Clara are cute—the little you see of them, haha. There is only 1 cheek kiss between Estella & Pip as children; I can't recall anything else. 

Content: 4/5

Take note a few ball dresses were fairly low, and Miss Havisham's consistent dress certainly was, though I only noticed it once or twice because she was not the centre of interest at all, haha/ There's some drinking, probably some smoking; maybe language, though I can't recall any right now. The one thing that takes off a point is after the fire scene, where Miss Havisham is burned, they show Pip's badly burned hands and it was horrific. 

Violence: 

2 scenes where Estella's face is bruised and red, as Drummle physically abuses her; an early on scene where Magwitch terrorizes Pip but does nothing; a fistfight between boys; physical and verbal abuse by Mrs. Joe towards Joe and Pip. 

Overall: 5/5

Overall, this was fantastic and I want to rewatch it again asap! It would probably be considered heavy; I personally don't have a problem with it. :) 

“The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” (1996)

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Brief Description:

A mysterious young woman arrives at Wildfell Hall, an old house of the Elizabethan era, with a young son. She is determined to lead an independent existence, but her new neighbours do not want to leave her alone. Only one of them, a young farmer, Gilbert Markham, succeeds in finding her secrets.

(from Wikipedia)

Date: 1996

Genre: period drama television serial adaptation

Running time: 2 hours 42 minutes (3 episodes)

Cast: 

Toby Stephens – Gilbert Markham

Tara Fitzgerald – Helen Graham Huntingdon

Rupert Graves – Arthur Huntington

Sarah Badel – Rachel

Jackson Leach – Arthur Huntington Jr.

Sean Gallagher – Walter Hargrave

Jonathan Cake – Ralph Hattersley

Joe Absolom – Fergus Markham

Kenneth Cranham – Reverend Millward

Pam Ferris – Mrs. Markham

Cathy Murphy – Miss Myers

Paloma Baeza – Rose Markham

Aran Bell – Richard Wilson

Miranda Pleasence – Eliza Millward

James Purefoy – Frederick Lawrence

Kim Durham – Benson

Dominic Rowan – Lord Lowborough

Beatie Edney – Annabella Wilmot, Lady Lowborough

Janet Dale – Mrs. Wilson

Susannah Wise – Millicent Hargrave

Karen Westwood – Jane Wilson

Director: Mike Barker

Production company: BBC & WGBH

Based on: 

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Wikipedia page

Watch on Archive

(watched on Tubi)

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 4/5

I'm just a beginner when it comes to period dramas, so I don't have very much to compare this to. I was not a fan of the vocalizing in the beginning and the end, which felt super modern; but I was very impressed by the clothes and hairstyles, which looked pretty accurate to me. Of course I also loved the aesthetics and settings... overall, I was pretty satisfied. I loved the dresses, anyways 😉 

Characters: 5/5

Judging purely off of looks: I think Tara Fitzgerald was a pretty good Helen. It's been a while since I read the book (only did so once) but I really liked how innocent and sweet her face looked. Graves was not as handsome as I thought Huntingdon would look, but I have no other quibbles. Stephens was a FANTASTIC Gilbert, I thought—looked like him and talked like him. And little Arthur was just cute :)

Plot: 4/5

I have mixed feelings on the plot. While they stuck pretty well to the actual story (as far as I recall; as I said, I only read the book once) they did snuck some extra themes in and remove the christianity. More on that later! It was, as expected, heavy and a little violent, dealing as it does with domestic violence and adultery; and I HATED the minister (I can't recall if I did in the book, or if this was exaggerated in the story). I did enjoy the however-will-they-get-together aspect again, anyways. 

Theme/Message/Topics: 4/5

While Huntingdon still complains bitterly of Helen's morality, and she does object to his vices, it came across as more of a "she's just a good person" and much less "the power of Christ in her." She never explained why she chose to do these things, as she does in the book, nor ever discussed salvation with him (again, like the book) though he does complain of going to hell. The other theme they worked in was much more domestic violence. I can't recall how much physical violence is hinted at or plays on-screen in the book, but in this film Huntingdon is much more verbally and even occasionally physically abusive, and there's rarely a scene where he isn't screaming at Helen once they're married. They also added a good bit of sexual assault. I would have preferred to see it implied and not played out; but I understand it's something important to talk about and probably happened in the book, and it's certainly a part of domestic violence. 

Romance: 2/5 (high)

As mentioned before, there are several scenes of Huntingdon forcing himself on Helen in episode 2. 1 scene happens in bed; in another, he throws her to the floor in a room; and then there are multiple scenes where he forces a kiss. There's also a scene where a friend of his forces kisses on her in episode 3. In episode 2, as well, you get a very wet kiss scene between Huntingdon and Helen before they're married. Later, after the wedding, comes a scene where he kisses her bare stomach and begins to undress her while talking of her beauty, immediately following which comes a scene where they're in bed together, quite bare, discussing how Huntingdon slept with a married woman. Later on, still in episode 2, there's a somewhat graphic birthing scene. Finally, in episode 2 or 3 (I forget) there's a scene where Huntingdon makes out with a friend's wife, but the camera pans quickly enough that all you see is them kissing and him shoving her to the wall (you can hear a few sounds for a few seconds after). Personally, I'm not sure if episode 2 is absolutely necessary to watch as I already know the plot of the book; but definitely if I rewatch it I would skip several scenes. Not just fast-forward, but actually physically skip. 😆 There's 2 kisses between Gilbert and Helen (episodes 1&3) but they're not very intense. 

Content: 2/5 (high)

Apart from everything else mentioned, there's a lot of drinking and drunk people, possible 2-3 instances of swearing; and a very nasty preacher who in one scene preaches a violent sermon, implied to be against Helen, as the townsfolk are convinced she's having an affair. (Spoiler: the man who visits her at bight is her brother, and Helen is not one bit unfaithful.) Huntingdon wishes she was having an affair later on. He becomes ill in episode 3 and coughs blood; his eye bleeds in a certain shot. In another scene, he paints blood from a dead bird on his son and sends him to see Helen; Arthur Jr. then sees a canary in a cage and for one scene hurts it (the bird is seen dead shortly after).

Violence: 2/5 (medium)

Apart from everything else mentioned, there's a scene where Gilbert fights Helen's brother and cuts him about the face with a riding crop; also a scene where one of Huntingdon's friends starts to get physically abusive with his wife but Helen speaks up and the men ask him to stop, which he does. 

Overall: 4/5

Overall, it's definitely for ages 18+ and not to be watched lightly, which I already suspected. As I mentioned, I'd skip some scenes, but I think I'd watch this again. I did enjoy a lot of it and it certainly makes me want to reread the book, which is totally fantastic. (You can read my review of that here.)