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MovieMail's Review
With 2012 marking the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’ birth, the BBC is celebrating the occasion with a new adaptation of his ever-popular Great Expectations, which traces the story of young Pip from village orphan to London gentleman – a story that begins with his fateful meeting with the escaped convict Abel Magwitch out on the Essex marshes. From the moment he goes to fetch a file and food from his Uncle Joe’s forge, the course of his life is set.
As expected, the BBC’s new adaptation is meticulous in its recreation of the era and its production design. The reclusive Miss Havisham’s Satis House for example takes its influences from Edgar Allan Poe, Edvard Munch and even the underground catacombs in Kensal Green.
With a star-filled cast including Ray Winstone as Magwitch, Douglas Booth as Pip, David Suchet as the lawyer Mr Jaggers and Gillian Anderson – memorable in her haunting portrayal of Miss Havisham – this is a worthy beginning to a notable anniversary.
A new star-studded BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel, featuring David Suchet, Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson and Douglas Booth among others. Sarah Phelps' adaptation brings out the very best of Dickens' masterpiece - part thriller, part mystery, with a powerful love story at its heart.
While out on the marshes, 11 year-old Pip (Oscar Kennedy) helps escaped criminal Magwitch (Winstone), an innocent act of kindness which will have far-reaching consequences for them both.
Meanwhile, Miss Havisham, the reclusive owner of grand Satis House, has requested a boy be sent to her; Pip is to be a playmate to her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham encourages Pip to believe that he might be destined for a future beyond the marshes, a future linked to that of beautiful Estella. Pip's hopes are dashed, though, when Miss Havisham pays for him to be apprenticed to Joe as a blacksmith; it seems his dreams of greater things were unfounded.
At first Pip struggles to come to terms with a life in the forge but eventually he accepts this as his fate. However, everything changes when a lawyer from London, Jaggers, makes a surprise visit. He informs the now adult Pip (Douglas Booth) that he is a young man of great expectations and will inherit a fortune when he reaches 21. There is one condition. Pip must not enquire into the identity of his benefactor; this will remain secret until that person chooses to reveal themselves. In the meantime Jaggers is his guardian. Pip sets out for London leaving all he knows behind to pursue his new life, with his heart set on seeing Estella again...
