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
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. :)
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