Charles Dickens's literary classic has been retooled for the nineties in "Great Expectations," an ambitiously sleek and uneven romance.
Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, who received large praise for his "A Little Princess," the film tries very hard to be chic and cutting edge, but a sloppy screenplay by Mitch Glazer ultimately undermines any attempts to create an engaging, sexually charged narrative.
Moving from the dismal English moors of the original novel, the film begins in sunny Florida as Ethan Hawke's young Finn (no longer Pip) runs along the beach among sea birds and fish. This leads to a chance encounter with an escaped convict named Lustig (Robert DeNiro) which later has repercussions on Finn's life.
Soon Finn, through a series of events, meets the eccentric and loony Ms. Dinsmoor (a.k.a. Ms. Havisham) played blithely by Anne Bancroft. After being abandoned at the altar by her fiance, Ms. Dinsmoor looses her sanity and locks herself in her Florida mansion aptly named "Paradiso Perduto"-- paradise lost. With her in the crumbling building is her golden haired niece, Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow).
Seeking revenge against men, Ms. Dinsmoor trains Estella to break men's hearts, starting with Finn. Years pass and suddenly Finn and Estella grow up to be two very attractive people played by Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow respectively.
The story then follows the two young adults as they part company but then cross steps again later in New York City when Finn has become a well-hyped artist.
Unlike the book, which emphasizes Finn's/Pip's growth from boy to man, the film decides to focus solely on the romance between the two main characters. However, the film is never able to raise much romantic tension. Estella's fickle mood swings throughout the picture become annoying and repetitive.
While her ambiguous attitudes towards Finn exist in the original book, Dickens also provides enough distance between each encounter with Estella that a hope is revived that maybe she won't be teasing again. The film, however, finds Estella switching back and forth so frequently that she becomes utterly unlikable which is a large problem for a romantic film.
It should be noted that none of the actors should be held at fault for the shoddy love story. Paltrow and Hawke work very well together and at first generate some real romantic sparks, before their relationship wanders into tedium.
The two inhabit their roles almost perfectly. Paltrow brings a considerable amount of WASP sophistication to Estella, and Hawke is able to maintain his patented wide-eyed naivete in Finn. Anne Bancroft, sometimes resembling a giant, dancing lily pad, clearly is having fun with Ms. Dinsmoor. She successfully brings a fine blend of zaniness and pathos to the character.
In addition to strong performances, everyone looks good. The film is more a fashion show than anything else. Paltrow and Hawke (who looked equally spiffy opposite Uma Thurman in the under-appreciated "Gattaca") are walking advertisements for haute-couture apparel. Even DeNiro puts in an appearance in a very expensive looking suit.
This is not a bad thing. Costume designer Judianna Makovsky decks out each character in suitable garb. She captures each character's essence by their clothes. From a leather clad art critic to low life mobsters in warm up gear, the wardrobe skillfully defines even the most remote characters.
Despite dead-on costumes and casting, the film never seems to hit the right tone until the action leaves Florida.
Cuaron's direction is trendy and shadowy and does not capture any sort of childhood innocence or wonder in the early sequences. However, this style does work when the story moves off to New York. His dark visuals compliment the city, giving everything an ultra chic look like a photo spread in "New York Magazine."
Still, the film too heavily relies on this hip appearance to create sexual tension. Shadowy restaurants and shiny water fountains are nice touches, but romance springs from a well written and well plotted screenplay, not from cliched devices such as Estella posing nude for Finn's art.
The film works best when it veers from the romance angle and focuses solely on Finn, his career and the social pressures around him.
In the moments where Finn interacts with the sophisticato of New York the picture develops a voice.
It satirizes the wealthy elite for their dependence on appearances, hype and materialism. In one scene a gallery curator humorously drags Finn from one critic to another, suggesting that the press is more important than the art.
However, the screenplay seems determined to play to commercial tastes by returning to the flat romance.
To the film's credit, the conclusion is handled in a tasteful and even beautiful manner. Despite the fact that it excludes some key points about Estella's background, such as who her father is, the ending works very well and leaves a little to the imagination for once.
I admire filmmakers who dare to modernize classics. It requires a degree of imagination and thoughtfulness.
Even though some of the plot of the original has been omitted here, the overall effort to reinvent the story is a good one. While the romance does not hold up and the directing style is shaky at times, the film is still engaging and easy on the eyes.
