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Amazon.co.uk Review
The key ingredient in this modern-day version of Charles Dickens's classic is director Alfonso Cuarón, who made the glowing, estimable A Little Princess. If you saw that (and you should), understand that Expectations has those ingredients (great sense of time, place, and timing) but adds modern music and sex appeal; the latter personified by the long-legged Gwyneth Paltrow. Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke as an adult, Jeremy James Kissner at age 10) is the new version of Dickens's Pip. He's a child wise beyond his years, befriending an escaped convict (Robert De Niro) in the warm waters of Florida's Gulf Coast. Finn is also the plaything for Estella (Paltrow as an adult, Raquel Beaudene at age 10), the niece of the coast's richest and most eccentric lady, Ms. Dinsmoor (a fun and flamboyant Anne Bancroft). The prudish Estella likes Finn (catch the best first kiss scene in many a moon) but has been brought up to disdain men; she'll break hearts. As the object of Finn's desires, Estella unfortunately is a one-dimensional character, yet what a dimension! Clad in Donna Karan dresses and her long, sun-kissed hair, Paltrow is luminous. She and Hawke make a very sexy couple. Mitch Glazer's script does better by Finn. He's a blue-collar worker with a gift for drawing (artwork by Francesco Clemente). Following his Uncle Joe's (Chris Cooper) honest ways, Finn grows up as a fisherman, thoughts of Estella and art drifting away in the hard work. When a mysterious benefactor allows him to follow his dream, Finn finds himself in New York, preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime art exhibit--and in the arms of the engaged Estella. Filled with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's golden-drenched light, the film has an irresistible, wildly romantic look. Dinsmoor's place is certainly gothic, Estella and Finn's longing encounters glamorous. Cuarón uses an MTV-friendly soundtrack with a confident touch. Songs by Tori Amos and the band Pulp--along with Patrick Doyle's silky score--create passionate scenes. It all ends far too swiftly with a seemingly tacked-on ending (reflecting the book, as it happens) but the film is splendid storytelling. It's a stylish, sweet valentine. --Doug Thomas
DVD Description
DVD Special Features:
Original Theatrical Trailer
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Language: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, English for the hearing impaired
Widescreen Anamorphic version 16:9
2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
With a sensational cast, haunting music, and great cinematography, this modern adaptation of Dickens's novel is far more fun and far more provocative than the original, however much one might like that novel. Set in a contemporary Gulf Coast village in Florida, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) is brought up by Joe (Chris Cooper), the lover of his sister, who has abandoned them both. A working class boy with a love of fishing and a gift for artwork, Finn is ten when escaped murderer Arthur Lustig (Robert DeNiro) surfaces one day while Finn is out exploring tidal pools. After helping him, Finn later forgets him.
Finn eventually meets Nora Dinsmore (Anne Bancroft), the richest woman in town, and her niece Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), whom he has been hired to visit every Saturday. When Estella goes away to school, Finn loses touch with both of them, until, years later, he is suddenly invited to New York to show his artwork. A mysterious trust supports him, and he reconnects with Estella and all the other characters from the past.
Director Alfonso Cuaron and screenwriter Mitch Glazer have created a modern story of obsession and revenge. Nora Dinsmore, who was jilted on the day of her wedding, thirty years before, has been training Estella, over the years, to tease and then destroy the men who love her. Anne Bancroft plays Nora to the hilt as a funky and exotic caricature, heavily made up, carrying a cigarette holder and martini glass, while gyrating to erotic music and chanting "Chick-a-boom." DeNiro is a vicious Lustig, and his first appearance is a shocker. Ethan Hawke, as Finn, does a good job, though he is hard pressed to hold his own when the rest of the cast is camping it up. Paltrow, as Estella, is coldly calculating in her sexual teasing, and lacking the vulnerability one expects. Chris Cooper, as the sympathetic Joe, provides the perfect foil for the other characters at key points in the film.
The lush cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezky) features Spanish moss, the eerie and dilapidated old house of Nora Dinsmore, lovely scenes of tidal pools and wild nature, and the hot New York art and café world. The director and producers have chosen nine different composers, ranging from Tory Amos to Iggy Pop, to create appropriate music for a succession of very different scenes, and they succeed in creating a haunting mood and atmosphere. Though the ending is abrupt and trite, the cast is terrific, and the film is great fun, especially in its contrasts to the Dickens novel. Mary Whipple
16 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I watched this film, not expecting much but came out with a great sense of passion. This heart-rendering tale is told beautifully and superbly acted by an all-star cast. Not to mention the soundtrack which I have to say blew me away and reduced me to tears! The dvd has great visuals and is a real must for any movie lover.
Format:DVD
SAFE READING - NO SPOILERS
With a sensational cast, haunting music, and great cinematography, this modern adaptation of one of Dickens's best-known and loved novels may be "far more fun and far more provocative than the original" (as one reviewer wrote) but, for me, that is the point, it is not the original. The original story is there, like the unexpectedly pleasant after-taste of a not so pleasant wine.
Probably this is the reaction of a reactionary, a Dickensian traditionalist but I take dislikes to films under the titles of classic books altering the characters and narratives to suit modern generations, leaving them with a warped (in the best sense of the word) version of stories and characters which have suited generations for, well, generations. For many, this new version of xxx will never be corrected, e.g. the new colour version of "Lord of the Flies", which completely missed the point in all its glorious colour and casting, "Robin Hood" in his new story, "William Wallace" in the SNP's driving force to name but three. Then there are all the re-makes of old films made by those who cannot come up with a good story of their own.
Having written that, as a film, it stands by itself, is very enjoyable and poses some of the original's dilemmas. Enjoyable film, but not Dickens. "Hold yur noise!"
With a sensational cast, haunting music, and great cinematography, this modern adaptation of one of Dickens's best-known and loved novels may be "far more fun and far more provocative than the original" (as one reviewer wrote) but, for me, that is the point, it is not the original. The original story is there, like the unexpectedly pleasant after-taste of a not so pleasant wine.
Probably this is the reaction of a reactionary, a Dickensian traditionalist but I take dislikes to films under the titles of classic books altering the characters and narratives to suit modern generations, leaving them with a warped (in the best sense of the word) version of stories and characters which have suited generations for, well, generations. For many, this new version of xxx will never be corrected, e.g. the new colour version of "Lord of the Flies", which completely missed the point in all its glorious colour and casting, "Robin Hood" in his new story, "William Wallace" in the SNP's driving force to name but three. Then there are all the re-makes of old films made by those who cannot come up with a good story of their own.
Having written that, as a film, it stands by itself, is very enjoyable and poses some of the original's dilemmas. Enjoyable film, but not Dickens. "Hold yur noise!"
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great
I've never read the book, but if it's half as good as the movie or better, then I would certainly start reading it!
Published on 3 Dec 2009 by Bjørn Alstrup Odgaard
Amazing....
One of the Best movies of all time...
Expresses well the innocence of our youth... Feels good watching it :)
Expresses well the innocence of our youth... Feels good watching it :)
Published on 22 Oct 2009 by R. Tomas
Only in America..........
What moron decided to create this piece of cheese? It represents an unfortunate trend among American film-makers who can't find decent stories of their own to trash! Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2009 by R. J. Barton
Awful
To say that 'the essence of Dickens is perfectly rendered' (as claimed by one reviewer) in this dumbed-down monstrosity is an insult to the intelligence of anyone who has read the... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2008 by K. Kuroski
A successful adaption
I am not usually one for adaptions. Something invariably gets lost, and the result is either too clever, too irrelevant, or too wooden, as if an attempt to re-image a classic... Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2008 by Dr. Vernon M. Hewitt
STOP PRESS!!! Dickens Turns Over in his Grave!!!!
This is possibly the worst film I have ever seen. I wish I had saved my money. I am giving one star for Anne Bancroft's bravura performance alone as the two leads, Ethan Hawke and... Read more
Published on 8 Aug 2008 by Callum Doone
Brilliant reworking of this classic tale.
I didn't really expect much from this remake, but was pleasantly suprised.
Knowing the story quite well, I knew all the different story lines that would crop up, but I found... Read more
Knowing the story quite well, I knew all the different story lines that would crop up, but I found... Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2007 by Ms. Am Kennedy
transforming a classic in the right way
'Great Expectations' is a wonderful novel, and the 1946 David Lean film is excellent and justly admired. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2007 by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane
Moody & symbolic update of the Dickens classic
A brilliant rerun of the original story which stands alone as a superb manifestation of a classic in it's own right. Read more
Published on 13 Aug 2001 by Martin Haworth
pure mastery
I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK BUT THIS FILM HAS CREATED A CATALYST TO READ IT. THE FILM WAS PURE GENIUS WITH THE GEORGOUS PALTROW WHOSE FANTASTIC PROTRAYAL OF ESTELLA REALLY... Read more
Published on 27 May 2000 by ryan2000@banbridge2000.club24.co.uk
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