In the past two days, I watched the movie "Great Expectations" based on Dickens' novel of the same name. I checked the Internet and found that nine of the famous novels have been adapted into movies, and there are even Indian and Australian ones. There are also a few TV shows. I found six films here, one of which is still in English and cannot be watched. So it took two days to read Dickens's original work again, and then read the remaining five books in turn.
The story takes place in the English countryside of the nineteenth century. Young Pip grew up with his sister and brother-in-law Joe, who lost both his parents. While going to visit his parents' graves on Christmas Eve, he encounters a fugitive who asks Pip to bring a file from the smithy to break the shackles, which Pip does out of fear and sympathy. Soon after, Pip arrives at the local mansion to accompany the old maid, Miss Haversian, and falls in love with her adopted daughter, Estella. They are also scorned and ridiculed from time to time. A few years later, one day, a lawyer, Gargs, came to the house and informed Pip that he had received a property funded by a mysterious man and was going to London to become a high-class man. The news made Pip excited. After saying goodbye to my brother-in-law, I came to London to learn the rules of the upper class and live a luxurious life. During this period, I met Estella, and Estella always kept a close distance from him. Makes Pip's life unhappy. On a rainy night, an uninvited guest suddenly visits, it turns out that he is the fugitive McGovich that Pip met in his early years. After he escaped from prison, he went to Australia to run a farm and made a fortune. He never forgets to help his little Pip when he was in the most difficult time. He is determined to use his wealth to make Pip a first-class person. It was only then that Pip realized that it was not the rich lady Haversian who was financing him, but the former prisoner. After that, Pip became mature. Estella married another woman, brother-in-law Joe always cared for Pip, Pip and his friend Herbert assisted Magovich to escape, and Magovich, who was facing hanging, died in prison. Miss Haversing also died in solitude. At the end of the film, Pip, who has a successful career, returns to his hometown. While exploring the mansion, he encounters Estella, who has a bad life, and once again awakens the love in Pip's heart.
Here's the synopsis and spoilers for the movie.
This is a 2011 BBC TV show. A total of three episodes. It is basically the same as the three Dickens novels.
The story still revolves around Pip's growth. In the first half of the film, Pip's character and emotions are drifting. When he was poor, he longed for wealth, and when he was rich, he had to cover up his past poverty; he blindly admired the upper class, including the pretense, exaggeration and hypocrisy of the upper class, but kept a kind heart; fell in love with Estella but was ashamed to express it, To the contempt and ridicule of Miss Haversing and Estella. According to the usual fate, Pip will follow this twisted society, and in the end, he will only grow from a rich overnight to a standard gentleman, living a luxurious and mediocre life. The good news, however, is that as the story progresses, Pip also matures. His thinking has progressed from "at ease" to "for oneself". He had tasted Miss Haversing's calculations, and heard Jo's pertinent rebuke to him: "You look different, you talk differently, you feel ashamed, ashamed of your family, ashamed of your birth Ashamed, ashamed of me, you don't even dare to look me in the eye." Especially when he learned that it was not a high-class person like Miss Haversing who financed him, but a low-level prisoner McGovich. All these things made Pip feel shocked. He began to look at the society and began to think about himself. And use these new thoughts to decide your future behavior. Including persuading Miss Haversing, following and assisting McGovich to escape, returning to his hometown, and expressing repentance to Joe. At this point, Pip's soul has been purified.
Another main thread of the story is Miss Haversian's evil plan. Miss Haversing was deceived by a man when she was young, so she wanted to take revenge on all men, as the so-called "doing to everyone what she doesn't want to do". When her plan was about to come to fruition and Estella was about to marry the playboy Demuller, she had a conversation with Pip:
Haversian taunted Pip: "The pain is so intense, isn't it? A broken heart! You feel like you're going to die, but you're still alive, day after day, the pain goes by."
Pip: "You gotta stop her, he's cold and arrogant."
Haversian: "He's perfect. That's why she chose her. But she'll destroy him, and he won't have a day of happiness. Sleeping with tears every night. His world will be cold and joyless."
Pip: "Is this your revenge? Do you think Bentley Muller cares if his wife loves him or not? You don't know men at all, Miss Haversing!"
Haversian: "I know their savagery."
Pip: "He's going to get what he wants and do what he wants. And nobody's going to protect Estella."
Haversian: "She will come home triumphant."
At this time, Haversin was proud of the perfection of her plan. She wanted to take revenge on Pip and Demuller, for no other reason than because they were men. But before long she'll find out that a playboy like Demuller wasn't hurt in the slightest, and that Haversian ruined not only Pip's life, but Estella's as well. And Miss Haversing herself did not get the thrill of success from it. She herself was reduced to a pitiful creature, and all she got was the scorn and contempt of kind people, and lived the rest of her life in loneliness and regret.
From the above dialogue, we can also find that Pip deeply loves Estella, and at this time, he doesn't care whether he can get Estella's love as well, but wants to do his best to help and save Estella from falling into a fire pit. Isn't this love purer and greater?
This dialogue does not exist in the original book. But I think this just reflects Dickens's original intention.
It feels like this is the closest film to the original since the 1946 version. Perhaps the director considered the audience of the TV series. Compared with the original book, the plot and dialogue of the film are less obscure, more straightforward, and not superficial. Because the capacity of TV series is much larger than that of movies, this allows the writers and directors to exert their creativity as they wish. Compared with the versions of other eras, the character of Olic is retained. From the perspective of the development of the story, Olic is a dispensable character, but some of Olic's actions just reflect the despicable character in the depths of human nature, and it is necessary to give appropriate exposure. Characters such as Estella and Pip's brother-in-law, Joe, are also richer.
The background music of the film is dominated by piano, which shows the taste of that era. Strauss' waltz at the ball was still as warm and luxurious. The music on the field also makes people feel vast and desolate.
The actor's performance, feel the best is Pip's friend Herbert. Optimistic, kind and helpful.
My rating: 7.0.
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