Review of Great Expectations 2012 by Director Mike Newell

*SPOILER ALERT--the review below may contain spoilers.  Read with caution!

How many people sigh to see yet another version of Great Expectations being done?  The only movie that has probably been done more often is Charles Dickens other work, The Christmas Carol.  In fact, I've seen so many versions of that story, I have rebelled and refused to watch another.  Of course, if Helena Bonham Carter were in it....okay, I might make an exception there.

It was because that Helena Bonham Carter was in this movie that I wanted to watch it.  I like Great Expectations, but I know the story well enough not to go into an ecstatic fit at the thought of another rendition of it being made. As for Helena Bonham Carter...do I believe she is the greatest actress in the world?  It isn't that really, but I generally enjoy watching her.  Frankly, it wasn't such a new role that she was playing a crazy woman with wild hair.  However, she is very good at playing a crazy woman with wild hair.

The movie had many fine actors in it:  Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch, Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, and Robbie Coltrane as Jaggers.  It was a Harry Potter reunion in a way, for it had three actors from the series as well as the director.

This is the short opinion of the movie:  it was well-done for something that had to take what should be a four hour miniseries and put it into two hours.  Because of this, many things had to be cut from the story.  I'm pretty certain some things were changed--so high school students be warned! If you are expected to write a book report for this book and want to watch the movie instead, pick another version of Great Expectations.  The character Orlick does not appear in the movie at all, and the attack on Mrs. Joe is not referred to.  She merely dies at some point.  Pip meeting the Pocket family after he becomes a gentleman was cut, though some of the relatives are seen with Miss Havisham, and of course the faithful Herbert is still in the movie.

However, due to the time constriction, everything is lightly touched upon.  You don't really see in great detail Pip's discontent at his life and how he becomes a bit of a prick after he gets money.  You don't see how he often unintentionally messes up Herbert.  Some of the characters don't really get a chance to be developed.

I didn't really like Robbie Coltrane as Jaggers.  Frankly, he would have made a better Joe.

The bright spot for me was Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Miss Havisham, though I may be biased as I am sort of a fan of hers.  There was one thing I really liked about what they did in this movie--which as far as I know has not been done in the past (though I haven't seen every version of Great Expectations)--is that they do a flashback of key points in Miss Havisham's life.  Somehow this makes it more powerful, and it is easier to sympathize with the character.  On the other hand, you also see how her bitterness interferes with her adopted daughter's happiness...like how she sends Pip away when she sees the attachment the lonely Estella is starting to have for him.

Ralph Fiennes, who I forgot could be handsome when he has a nose, is a likable Magwitch.  He actually was one of the scarier ones in the beginning of the movie, and the brooding scenery certainly added to the creepiness.

I did find the ending to be rather anti-climatic.  They went, of course, with second ending Dickens had written where Pip and Estella--it is implied--will finally get together.  This Estella was a stronger person, but it did make for a flatter ending.  Having Pip and Stella meet in the yard of a richly decorated house with children playing in the background somehow failed to carry off the scene as it would have if they had stuck to the book--where Pip meets Estella at Satis House and saves her from the darkness she plans to succumb to.

However, I did like the movie.  As I've said, when you have a time constriction, some things have to be sacrificed.  I will probably buy it when it comes to DVD.  However, if you are someone who is more of a purist, you may be happier with one of the other versions...preferably a longer miniseries that has the time to delve into the "meat" of the story.