Victorians! discussion

This movie is my fourth adaptation I have watched of perhaps Dickens' greatest novel. The other are: the 1946 David Lean movie, a 1989 mini-series produced for Disney Channel, and a BBC mini-series from 1999. The movie versions in order to keep the run time at or below 2 hours takes a butcher's cleaver to the novel. This has involved the elimination of subplots and minimizing secondary characters, for example, Orlick being written out.

I fell in love with this adaptation. There is almost a dream like quality about this movie perhaps due to the cinematography and soundtrack. The two biggest names in the movie are Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch.

Just some observations as a passionate amateur of the period and genre.

The first is the emotional intensity is really heightened especially in the interactions between Pip and Estella. This version of Estella is allowed to show her emotions at key points. Also, Estella has much more agency than previous adaptations.

The second is the Kent Marshes. Most adaptations have portrayed Pip's home as a dreary, dark and damp place. In this version, the natural beauty is allowed to shine. One would not mind spending some time there.

The eye candy is top notch. The costumes are in many ways a mish mash of 19th century styles adding to the feeling this is a dream. One does see extras wear Empire silhouette dresses. Estella's dresses have a higher waistline than Victorian frocks but her skirts are too voluminous to be categorized as something from the era of Jane Austen. On top of that she is often wearing dresses with witch's collars enhancing her seductive nature.

One dress really caught my eye. One of the key moments in any adaptation is when Pip meets Estella for the first time as a grown woman. Estella wears this stunning dress that gives off this soft dark purple hue from the light of an oil lamp and candles. When she goes outdoors the color changes dramatically. Women did choose dresses taking into account it would look quite different under the light from coal gas and candles than in daylight.

One area where the screen-writer and director of any adaptation take artistic liberty is the ending. As many who will read this know, Dickens wrote two endings. The first was a definitive Pip and Estella did not end up together. Then taking advice from a writer friend he wrote a much more ambiguous 2nd ending. I have to say the ending of this movie is one of the best and emotionally satisfying I have seen.

On my scale of 1 to 5 bonnets, I give this 5 bonnets.