Mike Newell's 'Great Expectations' 2012 - Review

The 2012 version of 'Great Expectations' as adapted by Newell is probably one of my more favored interpretations of the novel. This is predominantly due to the fact that that character designs of figures such as Miss Havisham were more accurate to as how I saw them from reading the novel. That being said part of me felt that the beginning of the film dragged on for too long and as a result slightly lost my interest, because of this by the time it got to more interesting scenes of gothic drama (such as meeting Miss Havisham) I already felt slightly bored. That being said Helena Bonham Carters interpretation of Miss Havisham was more interesting than most previous creation as it was taken from a more fairytale perspective than realism. Also the character was not dramatically aged, an element that seems to appear rejected in many other adaptations of the novel despite not actually being fully described in the book. Regardless of this I felt that this version commented well on the social standards of the time, in particular the depiction of London, which despite being described as a gentlemen’s place of opportunity, still embodies an element of the bustle and urban grubbiness apparent within other Dickens classics like Oliver Twist. Of all the elements of importance the stress of social commentary and infliction of revenge is a crucial element to the accurate portrayal of a Dickens classic such as Great Expectation.