Great Expectations, the BBC Adaptation 2011

Pip, a young orphan, is living with his sister and her husband in the marshes of Kent.*One day Pip is taken by his Uncle Pumblechook to play at Satis House, the home of the wealthy dowager Miss Havisham, who is extremely eccentric: she wears an old wedding dress everywhere she goes and keeps all the clocks in her house stopped at the same time. During his visit, he meets a beautiful young girl named Estella, who treats him coldly and contemptuously. Nevertheless, he falls in love with her and dreams of becoming a wealthy gentleman so that he might be worthy of her. The series*stars*Ray Winstone*as*Magwitch,*Gillian Anderson*as*Miss Havisham,*Douglas Booth*as Pip,*Vanessa Kirby*as*Estella*and*David Suchet*as Jaggers.

Now for the review:
All in all, the visuals were amazing. It really sets a nice dark and Victorian English*tone for the whole story. I enjoyed it, I really did. It was probably one of the first and best Charles Dickens books I have ever read, and this 3 part adaptation really did it justice. Although, it could have done with more dialogue.

The acting was pretty good. Douglas Booth, I am happy to find, can actually act. He mainly uses his eyes—which are beautiful—and the way he looks at other characters is very honest and direct.*Sometimes,though, as pretty as he looks, he*is rather blank and*his reactions are*somewhat*shallow. I think this adaption would have been much better if he had more lines, perhaps if he had narrated some parts, so that we know exactly what Pip is thinking and his intentions,*because*his thoughts*were what made the novel interesting, in my opinion. I think, for Douglas, he has lots of space for improvement in acting. The younger actor who did younger Pip was also spectacular, it was a bit odd seeing him get slapped over by everybody in the face, despite doing absolutely nothing wrong. Pip didn't have it easy, poor kid.

The lady who plays Estella, is also very very beautiful in a snow princess kind of way. Her Estella shows more emotion and*character out of all the other adaptions I think. You can see her love for Pip, the inner conflicts that she has with*herself and the sadness she feels about being raised and used by Miss Havisham. Which brings me to the actress (Gillian Anderson, most famous for X Files) for Miss Havisham. In this adaption, she is portrayed as a young, and pretty-in-a-dead way kind of woman. She looks*like Elizabeth from Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and I like that, I like her adaptation of Miss Havisham because you see the timeless insanity and sadness she locks up in herself,*eventually causing her rather timely demise in the end. You know you've got a great adaptation when you feel an intensity of emotion for the characters and what situation they are under. Hell I was yelling at the screen whenever I saw the scumbag Orlick. Great acting. Great, great acting.

The background and general lighting for this particular period drama was spot on, everything looked so gorgeous yet almost barren at the same time. Especially when Pip enters the Havisham estate. That place alone is a dystopian nightmare, a ghost of what could have been. That house alone spoke a lot about Miss Havisham as a person, the decay of her house could symbolise the decay of her heart and dreams, lost memories forever hidden in dust and cobwebs, and a ghost of a wedding; what could have been had she not have been jilted at the altar.

I have barely any qualms about the plot. Like I said earlier, could have done with a bit more narration, and not so much an abrupt ending.

All in all, 8.5\10

The film coming up this year has a lot to live up to. Imma just sayin'

 

I thought it was exceptionally beautiful, especially Pip ;)
But no seriously, having read the book I was glad to see justice done to it. There were a couple of things though. I thought Estella, pretty as she was, looked far too soft for my liking. I was expecting more of a cold, hard beauty, like Morgana out of BBCs Merlin. The younger one was well cast but I just wasn't so convinced by the older. Mrs Havisham I had always pictured as extremely old, but thinking about the timeline of events it would make sense for her to be about the age shown, especially considering how young people got married back then. You're right about the comparison to Corpse Bride, but I think the one you're thinking of was named Emily, or else you're thinking of Victoria.
I see what you mean about Douglas Booths acting, but to be fair I was too busy gawking at him to pay too much attention to that :P

I wonder if you know that the man who played Herbert Pocket is actually the great-great-somemoregreats-grandson of Charles Dickens?

 

Oh man, I did not know this was airing! I loved Great Expectations and I am absolutely sold if Gillian Anderson is in this. Scully <3 I'll have to give it a watch, the review definitely makes me want to see it more. ;o

It sounds like BBC likes doing this--in the Pride & Prejudice mini-series from 1995, Caroline Bingley is (iirc) played by a distant descendant of Jane Austen. Kind of fun, haha.

 

It had been confirmed that the guy who played Herbet Pocket in this adaptation is actually the great great great grandson of Charles Dickens. Needless to say, I think he'd be very very proud of his great x3 grandson. I know I would. Oh but I know what you mean at getting distracted by Douglas. Ghadgdsfkh even I had my moments.

The BBC's throwing in a lovely historical mix, adding some actual descendants of the authors into the mix.

Oh, if anybody wants the links for the 3 episodes, I can inbox ye with them or air them live, in case the BBC aren't showing it on iplayer anymore.