My rating on a 1-10 scale:
9
Genre: Classic,
life
Primary actors: Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Waddell, Charlotte Rampling
Length: About
three hours
Based on: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Time period: 1800’s
Year it came out: 1999
My overall opinion: It
was pretty good! The costuming was great, and it followed the book well. Overall,
it was a good movie and I enjoyed it. I will watch it again! However, I am also
eager to see the newest version. Now, on to my “evaluations.”
A couple of the characters…
Pip
An good actor. His
portrayal didn’t strike me amazingly, but he was good. (Note: very hard to find a picture :P)
Miss Havisham
She was good, very
good. I thought she made a stunning Miss Havisham. One thing I noticed that
interested me a bit is that she did appear to change her jewelry at least, and
maybe her dress, though it was always cream. In the book, Miss Havisham is
always wearing her old wedding gown. Other than that, I liked her portrayal.
Estella
They had the perfect
actor for Estella as a girl. She was snobby, pretty, and perfect for the part. However,
using Justine Waddell(who I associate fundamentally with Wives and Daughters) wasn’t a good move for the adult Estella. She
was beautiful, but she was way too nice to Pip. Perhaps that made it better for
the movie, but I think they should have stuck to the book. Molly (W&D) is meek and sweet, and I think
that the actor is sweet too. So she wasn’t right for Estella. The movie-makers
could have done better there.
Joe
Sweet, big, burly,
and gentle – perfect for Joe.
And a few thoughts on
key scenes/set-ups…
Miss Havisham’s Wedding Dinner and
Dining Room
Amazing. I can’t
imagine how much work went into that! There was still too much food for how
long it had been though…even I know that that food would have been much more
decayed. But it certainly made for a chilling effect! Pretty much wow. :)
London
Gray, dark, and dirty
– just like London was.
Miss Havisham’s Burning Dress
Wow. Just wow. I
think Dickens was rather fascinated with people burning…consider the
spontaneous combustion in Bleak House. A
really cool scene (not as in lovely, but as in amazing), and well done. Just what I’d pictured!
The End
I had wondered how
they did this…Dickens really leaves it hanging. So does the movie – in a
niceish way, as nice as a hanging end can be. The movie insinuates more about
how it ends than Dickens does, but I suppose some of that just comes with
SEEING it instead of READING it.
My Final Absolute Overall Opinion of Great Expectations
Good. Very good. If
you enjoyed the book, if you didn’t enjoy the book, if you like period
dramas…watch this.