Great Expectations (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
Great Expectations is a 1998 contemporary film adaptation
of the Charles Dickens
novel of the same name
, directed by Alfonso Cuarón
and starring Ethan Hawke
, Gwyneth Paltrow
, Robert De Niro
, Anne Bancroft
and Chris Cooper
. It is known for having moved the setting of the original novel from 1861 London to 1990s New York. The hero's name has also been changed from Pip to Finn, and the character Miss Havisham
has been renamed Nora Dinsmoor. Despite its popular and respected cast of actors, the movie received mixed reviews.
and a bolt cutter to get the iron shanks off his leg. Finn does, and the convict unexpectedly tries to make Finn take him by boat to Mexico
. The police seize the small boat heading out to sea. The convict hides on a buoy, and Finn's boat is towed back to shore. The next day, Finn sees on the news that the convict, mobster Arthur Lustig, had escaped from death row
, but was recaptured and would face execution soon.
Finn's uncle Joe is called to Paradiso Perduto ("lost paradise"), home of the richest woman in Florida
, Ms. Nora Dinsmoor. She is a local mystery, having shunned virtually all human contact since she was left at the altar several years before. She ostensibly asks him there to do a gardening job, but instead she slips him a large sum of money under the door, calling it "gas money." Meanwhile, Finn, who he brought along, meets Ms. Dinsmoor's young niece Estella
in the overgrown garden. Ms. Dinsmoor sees them interacting and calls Maggie (Kim Dickens
), Finn's sister, to ask her to let Finn be a playmate for Estella, even though Estella apparently dislikes him.
On Finn's first visit, she is disappointed when the boy cannot dance for her, but is intrigued when he says he can draw. She forces Estella to sit for a portrait, which Finn draws with make up on an old piece of wallpaper. While he draws, Ms. Dinsmoor warns Finn that he will fall in love with Estella and have his heart broken. After the portrait session, Ms. Dinsmoor calls it a day and asks Estella to help Finn find the door. On the way out, she pauses to take a drink from a water fountain and politely offers him a drink from it as well. While Finn is drinking, Estella kisses him.
Several years pass. Maggie runs away from home and Joe raises Finn alone. Finn goes to Paradiso Perduto every Saturday, where he learns to dance with Estella. One day, Estella mentions that she has a party to attend. Ms. Dinsmoor is shocked that she does not have an escort to take her, so Finn volunteers to escort her. When Finn shows up at the party, he is not allowed in because he is not on the guest list. Estella shows up beside his pick-up truck and asks him playfully if he will take her to his house. Once they get there, Estella starts to seduce Finn, only to suddenly leave, claiming that she is very busy that night.
The next day, Finn goes to Paradiso Perduto, only to be told by Ms. Dinsmoor that Estella had left to study abroad in Europe
. For the next seven years he resolutely puts Estella and Ms. Dinsmoor out of his mind, and gives up drawing.
One day, a lawyer comes to Finn and tells him that he will have a gallery show in New York City
. In the end, Finn is convinced to go to New York, which Estella had once claimed was the art capital of the world. When he arrives, he immediately gets to work drawing again, since he has no pieces to put on exhibit. He takes a break to get a drink from a water fountain - where Estella appears and kisses him. She then invites him to afternoon tea with her at a high class club.
Finn arrives to tea with Estella and some of her friends — including her fiancé, Walter Plane, who makes fun of him by asking how much he would charge to draw a portrait of Estella. Finn then leaves in a hurry amid the laughter of Estella's friends.
One day, Finn wakes up in his hotel room to see Estella standing next to him, reminding him that he had wanted to draw a portrait of her. While he prepares his sketch pad and charcoal, Estella takes off her clothes. After posing for a few sketches, Estella suddenly puts her clothes back on and leaves, saying that she is very busy. Growing sick of Estella's games, Finn chases her out to a cab and asks why she is so cruel to him. Estella sadly explains that she was trained to act this way by her Aunt Dinsmoor.
Walter shows up at Finn's hotel room one day, wanting to see the result of the portrait session. He then confesses to Finn that he thinks Estella is using Finn to push Walter into asking her to marry him and asks him how to please her. Finn has no idea how to respond, and Walter soon leaves.
The lawyer who had found Finn in Florida shows up again, moving Finn to a big studio where he can work on his art more comfortably. Finn quickly fills up the studio with his artwork as the opening date of his gallery draws nearer. He makes Estella say that she will be there.
One night, at an important event, Finn becomes frustrated when Walter draws Estella away when he barely even got to talk to her. He follows them to their dinner at a Chinese
restaurant. As the bemused dinner guests look on, Finn asks Estella to dance. They dance for a few seconds and then leave the restaurant. Once on the sidewalk, they run for Finn's art studio, where they make passionate love.
Finally, the opening night of Finn's gallery show arrives. He looks everywhere for Estella but she is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Uncle Joe shows up, to Finn's surprise and, to some degree, embarrassment. When Joe accidentally knocks a tray of wine glasses over and tries to clean up the mess, Finn repeatedly tells him with increasing volume to "just leave it." Joe feels that he and his homely manners are an embarrassment to Finn and decides to leave early, despite Finn's attempts to get him to stay. Finn then goes to Estella's abode in New York, hoping to find her there, but instead he finds Ms. Dinsmoor, who had come up to New York for the "special event": Estella's wedding. When Finn becomes upset at this news, she says icily that she warned him when he was a child. At this, Finn tells Ms. Dinsmoor that she has broken his heart, the way her fiancé did to her all those years ago. Suddenly remorseful, Ms. Dinsmoor apologizes.
Finn returns to his studio to find a strange bearded man wanting to see him: It is none other than Arthur Lustig. Finn is at first incredulous, but then he becomes uncomfortable with the old man's presence and implies that he should leave. As Lustig is walking out the door, he hints to Finn that he knows what Finn wants. Finn thus accompanies Lustig to the subway station, since Lustig has a plane to catch from the John F. Kennedy International Airport
for Paris
.
While they are waiting for a train, Lustig sees some unsavory acquaintances on the opposite platform. Finn and Lustig outmaneuver them and get on a train. They think they are safe, but as the train is in motion one of the old men comes through the car and brutally stabs Lustig in the side, stepping off the train at the next stop. As Lustig bleeds to death in Finn's arms, he reveals that he has been Finn's benefactor in return for the kindness Finn showed him as a child.
Devastated, Finn detaches himself from everything and goes to Paris to study art. He becomes successful in his own right, and eventually he goes back to Florida to visit his Uncle Joe and reconciles with him. Ms. Dinsmoor has since died, but he decides to visit her house anyway. As he is sitting in the garden, he thinks he sees the apparition of Estella as a child. He follows the little girl through to the back dock where he finds the child's mother, who turns out to be Estella, who has since divorce
d. She admits that she has often thought of him, and asks for his forgiveness for her past cruelty. Finn forgives her completely, and the movie ends with them holding hands and looking out over the sea.
, a historic residence in Sarasota, Florida
, stood for Ms. Dinsmoor's house. It was built in 1924 by Mable and John Ringling.
. The soundtrack also includes songs by popular artists such as Pulp
, Scott Weiland
, Iggy Pop
, Chris Cornell
, and The Verve Pipe
. Duncan Sheik
's contribution, the song "Wishful Thinking", was released as a single from the soundtrack and Poe's "Today
" was released as a promo. The film's score was written by Scottish composer Patrick Doyle
, a veteran of many literary adaptations and frequent collaborator of Kenneth Branagh
.
The soundtrack also featured the breakthrough single "Life in Mono
", which became a major hit, charting on the Billboard Hot 100
.
The score track "Kissing in the Rain" was sampled in the song "RoboCop" on Kanye West
's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak
.
assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100. Rotten Tomatoes
gave the film a 39% favorable rating, with a 50% positive reaction from major critics (listed as "Top critics"). Film critic Roger Ebert
, giving it three stars out of four, wrote: "Great Expectations begins as a great movie (I was spellbound by the first 30 minutes), but ends as only a good one, and I think that's because the screenplay, by Mitch Glazer, too closely follows the romantic line".
, an Italian painter. The actors sat for him in private. A gallery of some of the paintings is available for viewing at Fox's website devoted to the film.
Film adaptation
Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...
of the Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
novel of the same name
Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times....
, directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón
Alfonso Cuarón Orozco is a Mexican film director, screenwriter and film producer, best known for his films Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Y tu mamá también, and A Little Princess.- Early life :...
and starring Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
, Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
, Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
and Chris Cooper
Chris Cooper (actor)
Christopher W. "Chris" Cooper is an American film actor. He became well known in the late 1990s. He has appeared in supporting performances in several major Hollywood films, including The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, Capote, The Town, The Kingdom, Syriana, October Sky, Seabiscuit, and...
. It is known for having moved the setting of the original novel from 1861 London to 1990s New York. The hero's name has also been changed from Pip to Finn, and the character Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham
Miss Havisham is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations . She is a wealthy spinster, who lives in her ruined mansion with her adopted daughter, Estella, whom she has sent to France, while she herself is described as looking like "the witch of the place."Although she...
has been renamed Nora Dinsmoor. Despite its popular and respected cast of actors, the movie received mixed reviews.
Plot
The movie begins with young Finnegan "Finn" Bell playing on a beach in the Gulf Coast. An escaped convict suddenly pops out of the water and overpowers him, making Finn promise to bring back food and medicineMedicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and a bolt cutter to get the iron shanks off his leg. Finn does, and the convict unexpectedly tries to make Finn take him by boat to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The police seize the small boat heading out to sea. The convict hides on a buoy, and Finn's boat is towed back to shore. The next day, Finn sees on the news that the convict, mobster Arthur Lustig, had escaped from death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
, but was recaptured and would face execution soon.
Finn's uncle Joe is called to Paradiso Perduto ("lost paradise"), home of the richest woman in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Ms. Nora Dinsmoor. She is a local mystery, having shunned virtually all human contact since she was left at the altar several years before. She ostensibly asks him there to do a gardening job, but instead she slips him a large sum of money under the door, calling it "gas money." Meanwhile, Finn, who he brought along, meets Ms. Dinsmoor's young niece Estella
Estella Havisham
Estella Havisham is a significant character in the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations....
in the overgrown garden. Ms. Dinsmoor sees them interacting and calls Maggie (Kim Dickens
Kim Dickens
Kimberly Jan "Kim" Dickens is an American actress and model.-Early life:Dickens was born in Huntsville, Alabama, graduated from that city's Lee High School, and attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in communication...
), Finn's sister, to ask her to let Finn be a playmate for Estella, even though Estella apparently dislikes him.
On Finn's first visit, she is disappointed when the boy cannot dance for her, but is intrigued when he says he can draw. She forces Estella to sit for a portrait, which Finn draws with make up on an old piece of wallpaper. While he draws, Ms. Dinsmoor warns Finn that he will fall in love with Estella and have his heart broken. After the portrait session, Ms. Dinsmoor calls it a day and asks Estella to help Finn find the door. On the way out, she pauses to take a drink from a water fountain and politely offers him a drink from it as well. While Finn is drinking, Estella kisses him.
Several years pass. Maggie runs away from home and Joe raises Finn alone. Finn goes to Paradiso Perduto every Saturday, where he learns to dance with Estella. One day, Estella mentions that she has a party to attend. Ms. Dinsmoor is shocked that she does not have an escort to take her, so Finn volunteers to escort her. When Finn shows up at the party, he is not allowed in because he is not on the guest list. Estella shows up beside his pick-up truck and asks him playfully if he will take her to his house. Once they get there, Estella starts to seduce Finn, only to suddenly leave, claiming that she is very busy that night.
The next day, Finn goes to Paradiso Perduto, only to be told by Ms. Dinsmoor that Estella had left to study abroad in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. For the next seven years he resolutely puts Estella and Ms. Dinsmoor out of his mind, and gives up drawing.
One day, a lawyer comes to Finn and tells him that he will have a gallery show in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In the end, Finn is convinced to go to New York, which Estella had once claimed was the art capital of the world. When he arrives, he immediately gets to work drawing again, since he has no pieces to put on exhibit. He takes a break to get a drink from a water fountain - where Estella appears and kisses him. She then invites him to afternoon tea with her at a high class club.
Finn arrives to tea with Estella and some of her friends — including her fiancé, Walter Plane, who makes fun of him by asking how much he would charge to draw a portrait of Estella. Finn then leaves in a hurry amid the laughter of Estella's friends.
One day, Finn wakes up in his hotel room to see Estella standing next to him, reminding him that he had wanted to draw a portrait of her. While he prepares his sketch pad and charcoal, Estella takes off her clothes. After posing for a few sketches, Estella suddenly puts her clothes back on and leaves, saying that she is very busy. Growing sick of Estella's games, Finn chases her out to a cab and asks why she is so cruel to him. Estella sadly explains that she was trained to act this way by her Aunt Dinsmoor.
Walter shows up at Finn's hotel room one day, wanting to see the result of the portrait session. He then confesses to Finn that he thinks Estella is using Finn to push Walter into asking her to marry him and asks him how to please her. Finn has no idea how to respond, and Walter soon leaves.
The lawyer who had found Finn in Florida shows up again, moving Finn to a big studio where he can work on his art more comfortably. Finn quickly fills up the studio with his artwork as the opening date of his gallery draws nearer. He makes Estella say that she will be there.
One night, at an important event, Finn becomes frustrated when Walter draws Estella away when he barely even got to talk to her. He follows them to their dinner at a Chinese
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
restaurant. As the bemused dinner guests look on, Finn asks Estella to dance. They dance for a few seconds and then leave the restaurant. Once on the sidewalk, they run for Finn's art studio, where they make passionate love.
Finally, the opening night of Finn's gallery show arrives. He looks everywhere for Estella but she is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Uncle Joe shows up, to Finn's surprise and, to some degree, embarrassment. When Joe accidentally knocks a tray of wine glasses over and tries to clean up the mess, Finn repeatedly tells him with increasing volume to "just leave it." Joe feels that he and his homely manners are an embarrassment to Finn and decides to leave early, despite Finn's attempts to get him to stay. Finn then goes to Estella's abode in New York, hoping to find her there, but instead he finds Ms. Dinsmoor, who had come up to New York for the "special event": Estella's wedding. When Finn becomes upset at this news, she says icily that she warned him when he was a child. At this, Finn tells Ms. Dinsmoor that she has broken his heart, the way her fiancé did to her all those years ago. Suddenly remorseful, Ms. Dinsmoor apologizes.
Finn returns to his studio to find a strange bearded man wanting to see him: It is none other than Arthur Lustig. Finn is at first incredulous, but then he becomes uncomfortable with the old man's presence and implies that he should leave. As Lustig is walking out the door, he hints to Finn that he knows what Finn wants. Finn thus accompanies Lustig to the subway station, since Lustig has a plane to catch from the John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
While they are waiting for a train, Lustig sees some unsavory acquaintances on the opposite platform. Finn and Lustig outmaneuver them and get on a train. They think they are safe, but as the train is in motion one of the old men comes through the car and brutally stabs Lustig in the side, stepping off the train at the next stop. As Lustig bleeds to death in Finn's arms, he reveals that he has been Finn's benefactor in return for the kindness Finn showed him as a child.
Devastated, Finn detaches himself from everything and goes to Paris to study art. He becomes successful in his own right, and eventually he goes back to Florida to visit his Uncle Joe and reconciles with him. Ms. Dinsmoor has since died, but he decides to visit her house anyway. As he is sitting in the garden, he thinks he sees the apparition of Estella as a child. He follows the little girl through to the back dock where he finds the child's mother, who turns out to be Estella, who has since divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d. She admits that she has often thought of him, and asks for his forgiveness for her past cruelty. Finn forgives her completely, and the movie ends with them holding hands and looking out over the sea.
Locations
Cà d'ZanCa d'Zan
Ca' d'Zan, a Mediterranean Revival residence in Sarasota, Florida, was the winter home of the American circus owner, developer and art collector John Ringling and his wife Mable. Lovers of the Venetian aesthetic, the Ringlings chose the site overlooking Sarasota Bay for its vista, which reminded...
, a historic residence in Sarasota, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, stood for Ms. Dinsmoor's house. It was built in 1924 by Mable and John Ringling.
- Bradenton, FloridaBradenton, FloridaBradenton is a city in Manatee County, Florida, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's 2007 population to be 53,471. Bradenton is the largest Principal City of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2007 estimated population of 682,833...
- Cortez Road and Sarasota Bay - was the house setting.
Soundtrack
The song "Siren" was written especially for this film by Tori AmosTori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
. The soundtrack also includes songs by popular artists such as Pulp
Pulp (band)
Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
, Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland
Scott Weiland is an American musician, lyricist, and vocalist, most notable for his work with Grammy Award-winning rock band Stone Temple Pilots. Weiland is also known for his five-year career with supergroup Velvet Revolver as well as his own solo career...
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell
Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...
, and The Verve Pipe
The Verve Pipe
The Verve Pipe is an American rock band from East Lansing, Michigan. It was formed in 1992 by Brian and Brad Vander Ark, Brian Stout and Donny Brown.-History:...
. Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
's contribution, the song "Wishful Thinking", was released as a single from the soundtrack and Poe's "Today
Today (Poe song)
"Today" is a song Poe contributed to the soundtrack of the film Great Expectations in 1998. The song was released as a single in order to promote the film and soundtrack....
" was released as a promo. The film's score was written by Scottish composer Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle
Patrick Doyle is a Scottish musician and film score composer. A longtime collaborator of actor/director Kenneth Branagh, Doyle is known for his work scoring such critically acclaimed films as Henry V , Sense and Sensibility , Hamlet , and Gosford Park , as well as noteworthy blockbusters as Harry...
, a veteran of many literary adaptations and frequent collaborator of Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
.
The soundtrack also featured the breakthrough single "Life in Mono
Life in Mono (song)
"Life in Mono" is a song by UK band Mono, which consisted of singer Siobhan de Maré and musician Martin Virgo. It was released on the band's first EP in 1996 which contained various remixes, most notably two by the Propellerheads...
", which became a major hit, charting on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
The score track "Kissing in the Rain" was sampled in the song "RoboCop" on Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak
808s & Heartbreak
808s & Heartbreak is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Kanye West, released November 24, 2008 on Roc-A-Fella Records in the United States. Recording sessions for the album took place at Glenwood Studios in Burbank, California and Avex Recording Studio in Honolulu, Hawaii during...
.
Critical reception
Great Expectations received mixed or average reviews. Based on 24 critic reviews from mainstream publication, MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
assigned the film a weighted average score of 55 out of 100. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
gave the film a 39% favorable rating, with a 50% positive reaction from major critics (listed as "Top critics"). Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, giving it three stars out of four, wrote: "Great Expectations begins as a great movie (I was spellbound by the first 30 minutes), but ends as only a good one, and I think that's because the screenplay, by Mitch Glazer, too closely follows the romantic line".
Artwork / Portraits in the Film
All of Finn's artwork and portraits of the main characters in the film were done by Francesco ClementeFrancesco Clemente
Francesco Clemente is an Italian and American contemporary artist. Influenced by thinkers as diverse as Gregory Bateson, William Blake, Allen Ginsberg, and J Krishnamurti, the art of Francesco Clemente is inclusive and nomadic, crossing many borders, intellectual and geographical.Dividing his time...
, an Italian painter. The actors sat for him in private. A gallery of some of the paintings is available for viewing at Fox's website devoted to the film.