Grandes esperanzas (Great Expectations)

It is always going to be a challenge to take a classic novel and turn it into be a movie that will satisfy everyone, especially when the story is being changed and adapted to fit a modern setting. If what you want to find from this movie is an exact translation of the book you will be unimpressed.

I personally loved this movie, it is completely stylish thanks to a brilliant soundtrack and the gorgeous leads Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow (who is cast perfectly as the beautiful ice queen). They are helped along by a strong supporting cast of Anne Bancroft (wonderfully eccentric as Ms. Nora Dinsmoor), Chris Cooper and Robert DiNero.

The problem, however, is that in trying to fit a story as long and complicated as ‘Great expectations' into a 90 minute movie you loose a lot of the development of the characters necessary to identify and have an emotional reaction to them.

Rather than linger on these issues Alfonso Cuaron concentrated on the visual aspect of the movie and the result is a movie that is great to watch!

Good romantic-drama, based on Charles Dickens' classic novel. I haven't read the book, so can't say how faithful this adaptation is (obviously, it has been modernized). The transplanting into the modern day doesn't suffer from the usual stuffiness that such adaptations usually suffer from (eg Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet), and feels like a modern romantic-drama.

Solid direction from Alfonso Cuaron. Pacing is generally good, though there are one or two patches where the movie drifts.

Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow are solid, though not spectacular, in the lead roles. Good support from Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft and Robert De Niro.

I went into Great Expectations with high hopes. The story has always been one of my favorites and I couldn't wait too see what they had done with it. The film is beautiful. It is very rich in color and scope. The cinematography was outstanding and the direction was solid. The acting was brillant all around. Robert De Niro is in the movie only briefly, but brings respect to a role that could be just a flash in the pan for anyone else. Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow are great and Chris Cooper turns in a very subtle but powerful performance as Finn's guardian. The film left me feeling good, what more could you ask for in a movie?

Too many times we fall into the trap of comparing a movie with the book. Every director and every writer has a vision and we must judge that vision through their respective mediums. This film brings an unconventional theme to a society fascinated by what they cannot have. This film symbolizes just that. Standing on its own, this film was magnificent in its visual images and music and very many other areas. Do not be caught in that trap of comparing this film to the book. Dickens should never be compared to any screenwriter in the first place.

Hollywood and the movie industry have made many bold moves over the past decade in bringing to life old classics. None however have been done more boldly than the remoulding of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Charles Dicken's Great Expectations. Both are daring attempts to rebirth a storyline from the distant past, as a tale told in our modern times. I say attempt because in both cases, as good a job the cast and crew did, there was something lacking in these new renditions. Great Expectations, the movie, lacks many qualities that make the novel a success. It cannot be said to be a total loss, the basic elements are intact, it is only the embellishments Charles Dickens developed in the novel to make the story more realistic that are missing.

One success, I must admit that I observed while watching the film was the rich visual setting. Although not taking presented in the same place, or era Great Expectations, the movie, is a feast for the eyes. It captivates the mind with beautiful shots of the rural Florida coast life, and yet still retains the jumbled, rundown atmosphere that is described of Pip's small birthplace in a small English town. These qualities of squalor are evident in the impoverished coastal fishing village of the movie. The best achievement in cinematography, is the in-depth views of Pardiso Perduto, a sister mansion to the decaying Satis house of the novel. Even the scenes of New York, the city of "expectations" for our youthful protagonist, Finn, has contrasting aspects of rich beauty and unsightly slums that the London of the nineteen century demonstrated. This is the most major achievement for the film; to capture on film a most ingenious modern equivalent of Charles Dicken's astute descriptions.

Unlike some attempts to revamp literary successes the movie at least retains some of the dignity of Dicken's work. The core of his novel is intact within the screenplay. Also many ingenious ideas were used in some plot changes, and cinematography. Overall it is not a bad representation of the novel.