Great Expectations

Pip (Jeremy Irvine) is a lonely orphan who was told he could never amount to anything. However, his life seems set for change when he helps an escaped convict on the moors and encounters the mysterious Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham-Carter). The lady of a wealthy estate, Miss Havisham was jilted at the altar by her lover and now floats like a ghostly spectre about her home, seeking out Pip as a companion for her daughter Estella (Holliday Grainger). Pip falls instantly in love with Estella but the young girl coldly rejects his advances. Over the years, mysteries are unravelled, secrets are spilled and tragedies unfold, as the film recounts one of literature’s finest tales.

Following the critical acclaim of the BBC’s Great Expectations last Christmas, this movie had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, Mike Newell succeeds in breathing new life into this much-loved Dickens classic, a triumph that can be attributed not only to his cinematography (which spectacularly oozes the darkness of Victorian England), but also to his casting decisions. Helena Bonham-Carter bounces back from a recent string of heavily typecast roles by offering a sympathetic and tender portrayal of Miss Havisham as she begins to lose her sanity - although, of course, it wouldn’t really be Helena Bonham-Carter without a few moments of craziness!

However, it is the up-and-coming actors who truly deserve a mention here. Irvine, whose acting career has blossomed since starring in Spielberg’s War Horse, turns out yet another impressive performance, whilst Holliday Grainger is wonderfully radiant in her first lead role in a feature film. Together, their interactions as Pip and Estella light up the screen, with Irvine’s yearning facial expressions being sharply deflected by Grainger’s subtle but controlling smirks and sneers, allowing us to discover how Miss Havisham supposedly “stole her heart away and put ice in its place”.

This is a solid, well-acted adaptation which, whether you’re familiar with the novel or not, will take you above and beyond your expectations.

Laura Davenport