Great Expectations (1998)
20th Century Fox; rated R (brief nudity, language, sensuality); 111 minutes
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Screenplay: Mitch Glazer (adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens)
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Gwenyth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Chris Cooper, Hank Azaria, Robert DeNiro, Josh Mostel, Nell Campbell, Kim Dickens.
Review By: Geoff Berkshire
Star Rating: ** (out of ****)
Like William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, from 1996, Great Expectations takes a classic story and envisions it in modern terms. Unlike Baz Lurhmann's wild and romantic film though Great Expectations is not a success.
Faithful readers of the Dickens novel will no doubt be horrified with the multitude of changes made. The film plays so fast and loose with its source material it is likely to inspire comparisons with the failed 1995 film version of The Scarlet Letter. I, however, am not a Dickens fan and I would warmly welcome an attempt to turn any of his works into a modern, fun, movie. Unfortunately, this film turns out to be as much fun as reading the novel.
For awhile the film hooks you. The production design, costume design, cinematography, and musical score and soundtrack are undeniably gorgeous. If not an exciting film, Great Expectations is certainly a beautiful film to look at.
The film opens with young Finn (changed from Pip in the book) informing us he will not "tell the story the way it happened" and will instead "tell the story the way I remember it." While on an outdoor excursion in his Florida fishing village Finn happens across a wanted criminal who is hiding out under water (mostly so Robert DeNiro, who portrays the criminal, can have a flashy entrance). After a brief experience in helping the criminal he is caught again and Finn returns to his normal life.
He is then taken, by his Uncle Joe (Chris Cooper), to the dilapidated mansion of the richest woman in town Ms. Dinsmoore (Anne Bancroft, inviting comparisons to a drag queen). After locking eyes with a beautiful but icy young girl on the grounds Finn is swept away as quickly as he arrived. Upon their return home though they find his older sister (Kim Dickens) on the phone with Dinsmoore. Apparently the woman will pay a handsome fee if young Finn will spend his Saturday afternoons entertaining that mysterious young girl at the mansion.
Eager to see the young beauty again Finn quickly agrees and is soon swept into a world of Dinsmoore's madness and the hot and cold nature of young Stella. Time passes, Finn and Stella grow up into Ethan Hawke and Gwenyth Paltrow, and Stella soon disappears to Europe. Finn is heartbroken and gives up his passion for artwork to work the ocean with Uncle Joe.
After more time passes Finn receives a gift from a mysterious benefactor which allows him to travel to New York and start up his painting again. In New York he runs into Stella and old passions are brought to the surface. However, Stella is now engaged to wimpy Walter Reed (Hank Azaria wasting time in a meaningless role) and is still cold enough to deny true feelings for Finn but hot enough to pose nude for him (following in the oddly fast growing tradition of Kate Winslet in Titanic (1997) and Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets (1997)).
The focus of this version of Great Expectations remains almost exclusively on the anti-romance between Finn and Stella. There is time taken out for Finn's overnight success in the New York art world and for bookend appearances by the DeNiro character. However what we have mostly is a film about an emotionally disturbed woman and the lap dog in love with her.
Hawke and especially Paltrow do a fine enough job with their performances but it's hard to establish a relationship with their empty characters. Of all the characters only Chris Cooper's Uncle Joe seems to have an emotional depth to him.
To be fair there are some stunningly romantic sequences. A first kiss over a water fountain that is later repeated is strongly erotic both times and a scene where Finn ditches his first gallery show to sweep Stella off her feet provides a real romantic rush. After this though we're left with characters who are completely at odds with each other and the romantic scenes are given a sort of uncomfortable aftertaste.
In the end what we have is a pretty but vapid film that reaches for a timeless passion that simply isn't present in its story.
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