Rent Great Expectations (2012)

A good and faithful adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens - Great Expectations review by Philip in Paradiso

Philip Pirrip, known as Pip (Jeremy Irvine, when older, his brother playing Pip when he is a young boy), is 7 years old. He lives with his cantankerous older sister and her husband, a blacksmith called Joe Gargery. Joe is kind and likes the boy. They live in a house on the coastal marshes of Kent. There are some prison ships anchored off the coast, where some convicts were kept in those days. On Christmas Eve 1812, Pip visits the graves of his parents and siblings in the nearby cemetery. He encounters an escaped convict who threatens to kill him if Pip does not bring him food and tools (such as a file, to be able to remove his shackles). The convict is Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes). Pip is scared of what the convict on the run might do and agrees to help him. The story develops from this point onwards: the encounter with Magwitch will change Pip's entire life.

The film is a very good and faithful adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens. The atmosphere in England (and London) in the early 19th century is re-created in a plausible and interesting way. The actors put in an excellent performance across the board. As reviewers have pointed out, however, there is something original and some excitement missing from the movie, somehow. The film is almost too slick and too predictable in its form, its tone and its style. It is still a very good movie and I did enjoy watching it. Anyone who enjoys watching well-made period films and/or who knows the novel by Charles Dickens and enjoyed reading it will undoubtedly like the film.