Great Expectations (2011)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Redundant and unnecessary.

Best movie ever!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I'll not comment on the casting or acting, nor on the photography, lighting, or other technical aspects of the production. For me, the most important aspect of any adaptation of a Dickens novel is the degree to which the adaptation is faithful to the novel. And, in that respect, this production fails miserably. Many of the characters are portrayed in a way that is very different from the way they are depicted in the novel, including Herbert Pocket, Mr. Jaggers, Miss Havisham, Uncle Pumblechook, and especially Joe. And, while it cannot be expected that every event in the novel could be crammed into a three-hour production, some important events are missing, and others are shown out of order; for example, Herbert Pocket marries and departs for Egypt before Magwich arrives, even though, in the novel, Pip is assisted in his effort to spirit Magwich out of the country by Herbert and Startop (a minor character who is omitted from most productions). One of worst aspects of the production is the insertion of scenes that are not in the novel, and which are wholly out of harmony with Dickens' writing, such as the scene where Pip goes to a brothel with Drummel. Worst of all, though, is the almost total replacement of Dickens' words with new dialogue. It is almost as if the screenwriter was thinking, "I can do a better job of telling the story than this Dickens guy." The bottom line is, if you love Dickens' work in general, and Great Expectations in particular, you would do well to skip this version.

Airing over Christmas 2011 this adaptation of Dickens' classic novel is actually pretty good. It can't compete with the David Lean version, but there's a lot to be liked about it.Yes, it cuts out some moments, which is odd seeing as they had several episodes to tell it in rather than the 90 mins you'd have in a film, but all involved seem to suit their roles well and give good performances.It's not perfect, but there are lots of strong moments within this mini series and I rate it as being stronger than the film version that followed a year later.

I am amazed at the negative reviews about this series and how completely false they are. If nothing else, do not let those turn you away; watch it for yourself. For one thing, every time a book is turned into a film, little things must be changed. It is just the way it is in order to keep the audience interested and to fit an entire book into a few hour film. So to expect a word for word portrayal of the book is absurd and only amateurs should expect that. The filming and coloring of this series was excellent. The colors felt dark and dreary and complicated, just like much of the book. Everything I envision when I read Great Expectations was how this series felt. Especially Satis House. It is dark and molding and rotten and disgusting. The cast was perfect. Gillian Anderson played an outstanding Miss Havisham. She literally felt like the shell of a being. Completely lost and void of all feeling and life. Everyone said she was too young, but I thought she looked aged and distraught and perfect for her role. Estella was also a great cast. She is definitely not the prettiest actress in the world, however, she nailed her part. Cold and unfeeling, as she was trained to be. Yet toward the end, there isn't a lot said, but you can feel her change in her feelings towards Pip. Her realization that he was right all along and she is capable of loving him. And Pip was perfect in every way. Young Pip was excellent. And Douglas Booth was outstanding as an adult Pip. His transformation from "the boy from the forge" to a gentleman was well noticed. He looked and felt the part. You felt every emotion. I am excited to see where his future career in film takes him, because I thought he was excellent. He is going to play Romeo in the next adaption of Romeo and Juliet and I am quite thrilled for that! As for everyone else, I thought they cast was spot on. It was true to the story, with obvious little changes. If you are going to be a stickler about every little thing and expect every detail of the original book to be in the film, than yes, of course you'll be disappointed. That is a ridiculous notion and you should never watch any adaption of the book to film. But if you can appreciate art in every form, you will love this version. I will definitely be buying it on DVD and watching it over and over.

Stunning photography and high production values in the end could not make up for the gaping plot holes. If you had never seen earlier versions or had never read the book then you would think this is a marvellous production.The piece got off to a magnificent start - the scenes at the forge and surrounding countryside. I did think it odd that the forge was nowhere near a town or farms. People needing a horse shod had a considerable journey to get the job done. At the end of the first episode I was having doubts and shortly into the second episode I had had enough and turned off. At the end of part one I wondered what had happened to Biddy, a secondary but important character. Biddy teaches Pip to read and write yet in this series Pip learns to read and write without any tuition. Joe Gargery's appearance at Pip's club was a false note too. Then one character refers to another as 'an idiot'. Using the word 'idiot' in that way dates from the 1960s. Then it was a medical term meaning a person with severe mental retardation. 'Fool' would have been the correct word.