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Title: Great Expectations (1998)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Ethan Hawke | ... | Finnegan Bell | |
| Gwyneth Paltrow | ... | Estella | |
| Hank Azaria | ... | Walter Plane | |
| Chris Cooper | ... | Joe | |
| Anne Bancroft | ... | Ms. Dinsmoor | |
| Robert De Niro | ... | Prisoner / Lustig | |
| Josh Mostel | ... | Jerry Ragno | |
| Kim Dickens | ... | Maggie | |
| Nell Campbell | ... | Erica Thrall | |
| Gabriel Mann | ... | Owen (as Gabriel Mick) | |
| Jeremy James Kissner | ... | Finnegan at Age 10 | |
| Raquel Beaudene | ... | Estella at Age 10 | |
| Stephen Spinella | ... | Carter Macleish | |
| Marla Sucharetza | ... | Ruth Shepard | |
 |
Isabelle Anderson | ... | Lois Pope |
Based on Charles Dickens' timeless tale, this is a story of the love of a man for an unreachable woman. Updated to modern-day New York City, the story concerns a man of modest background who falls in love with a rich girl. But when a mysterious benefactor greenlights the man to make his dreams come true, everything done has the ultimate goal of making Estella fall in love with him. Written by Steve Richer <sricher@sympatico.ca>
Hollywood and the movie industry have made many bold moves over the past decade in bringing to life old classics. None however have been done more boldly than the remoulding of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and Charles Dicken's Great Expectations. Both are daring attempts to rebirth a storyline from the distant past, as a tale told in our modern times. I say attempt because in both cases, as good a job the cast and crew did, there was something lacking in these new renditions. Great Expectations, the movie, lacks many qualities that make the novel a success. It cannot be said to be a total loss, the basic elements are intact, it is only the embellishments Charles Dickens developed in the novel to make the story more realistic that are missing.
One success, I must admit that I observed while watching the film was the rich visual setting. Although not taking presented in the same place, or era Great Expectations, the movie, is a feast for the eyes. It captivates the mind with beautiful shots of the rural Florida coast life, and yet still retains the jumbled, rundown atmosphere that is described of Pip's small birthplace in a small English town. These qualities of squalor are evident in the impoverished coastal fishing village of the movie. The best achievement in cinematography, is the in-depth views of Pardiso Perduto, a sister mansion to the decaying Satis house of the novel. Even the scenes of New York, the city of "expectations" for our youthful protagonist, Finn, has contrasting aspects of rich beauty and unsightly slums that the London of the nineteen century demonstrated. This is the most major achievement for the film; to capture on film a most ingenious modern equivalent of Charles Dicken's astute descriptions.
Unlike some attempts to revamp literary successes the movie at least retains some of the dignity of Dicken's work. The core of his novel is intact within the screenplay. Also many ingenious ideas were used in some plot changes, and cinematography. Overall it is not a bad representation of the novel.