Great Expectations (1998) Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Robert DeNiro, Chris Cooper, Hank Azaria. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. 111 minutes. Rated R, 1.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com/film/ Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott
Remember when you were a kid and went shopping for a Mothers Day gift at the drugstore? Your eyes would invariably land on the most elaborate package; a huge red velvet heart-shaped box of candy, with gold-edging, lace and ribbons. To a child, it was dazzling, but most adults recognized it as just a large, garish box of cheap sweets. "Great Expectations" is like that. Wildly ornate and covered with lace and ribbons, it desperately tries to look classy, but you quickly identify it for what it is; a great big heart-shaped box full of nothing. Loosely based on the Charles Dickens classic, "Great Expectations" is aimed at romantics. Set in contemporary times, it strives to be a hip, tragic love story, but is so excessive and inept that it falls flat on its tortured little face. Ethan Hawke plays Finn, an artist raised by his sister's boyfriend (Chris Cooper) in a fishing village on Florida's Gulf Coast. As a boy, he once showed kindness to an escaped convict (Robert DeNiro) and never told anyone about the bizarre encounter. Shortly after, he was summoned to the decaying mansion of a rich, crazy old lady (Anne Bancroft,) where he became the designated playmate for her beautiful, snobby niece. Naturally, he immediately fell madly in love with the girl.
Cut to the 80s. Finn works as a commercial fisherman, burying his anguished memories of the lovely Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow,) who went away to school in Europe after rebuffing his advances again and again. Out of nowhere, a lawyer appears with a gift for the angst-ridden young man. Finn has a benefactor, who provides tickets to New York and everything Finn needs to break onto the city's art scene in grand fashion. Reluctantly, he heads for the Big Apple, where he finds wealth, success and, of course, the haughty Estella, now in the arms of another man. Visually, "Great Expectations" is a textbook example of art direction overkill. Every scene is dripping with chintzy style and framed to postcard perfection. Even the rotting mansion looks like the set for a MTV video, with glorious decay arranged oh-so-carefully to maximize the lush romanticism. Flocks of birds take off at just the right moments, while the overbearing soundtrack, a blend of thick strings and alternative rock, attempts to bully an emotional response from the viewer.
Of the many over-the-top visuals, the most outrageous comes midway through the film, as Finn walks the New York streets, devastated that Estella is flying away with her fiancee. Finn looks up at the clouds in the night sky, beautifully backlit by the moon. Suddenly, the camera sweeps upwards through the clouds to a computer generated airplane, whooshing right up to one of the plane's windows, where Estella gazes wistfully into the darkness. The scene is stunningly cheesy, so much so that one is almost tempted to admire the filmmakers for their sheer brazenness. Almost. Director Alfonso Cuaron's audacious style is certainly memorable, but that doesn't make it good. And then there's the acting. You won't forget Anne Bancroft as the whacked-out Nora Dinsmoor. Bedecked in flowing dresses and enough make-up to embarrass Tammy Faye Bakker, Bancroft sweeps about the screen grotesquely, overacting while the camera takes every opportunity to focus on her wrinkles. She comes off like a drag queen doing a bad impression of Norma Desmond from "Sunset Boulevard." Robert DeNiro acquits himself nicely as the escaped convict, though it's hard to fathom why he agreed to perform in this trifle. Ethan Hawke spends the bulk of his screen time squinting with his mouth hanging open. In most scenes, he behaves as if he was struck in the head with a piece of lumber a few minutes earlier and is just beginning to regain his senses. As for Gwyneth Paltrow, there's not much to say. The centerpiece of the film is an extended scene where she poses in the nude for Finn. It's supposed to be haunting and erotic, but the effect is lessened because posing is only thing Paltrow does during the entire movie. Repeatedly, she strides into a scene, toys with Finn's emotions, then leaves abruptly. Paltrow does the abrupt exit bit so often that it becomes almost laughable. It's reminiscent of Elizabeth Berkley in "Showgirls," who left virtually every scene by spinning on her heels and walking off in a huff. The preening Estella may be beautiful, but Finn's devotion to this aloof ice queen just makes him seem obsessive and shallow. "Great Expectations" is a mess, a lurid romance with flashy imagery substituting for genuine emotion. Rent the superb 1946 version of Dickens' story from your video store and stay away from this oversized, overwrought heart-shaped box of goo.
Copyright 1998, Ed Johnson-Ott
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