In 2012, Mike Newell created a film replicating one of Charles Dickens’s famous novels Great Expectations. Both novel and film both are set in Kent, England and recount us through the life of a young commoner named Pip. Pip eventually moves to London and has wealth bestowed upon him by an anonymous benefactor. With the money he receives, Pip is able to become a gentleman. The film was not an effective representation of the novel because the omission of certain characters, the characters are presented differently than they are in the book and the story is told through dialogue instead of narration. Due to the film being so fast and compressed, some of the Characters are left out.
For example, the character that was missing in the film was a menacing, broad-shouldered, loose-limbed (15.35) cruel man named Orlick. Dickens uses these types of characters in his novel to set a cruel nature and to give an unpleasant feeling of threat. The omission of Orlick is significant because it does not allow the audience to see Pip’s final repentance.
This is important because it is when pip realizes his guilt and disloyalty towards his loved ones, Joe and Biddy. Another instance is when Orlick is interested in Biddy, as a result she becomes frightened, and this leads to his hatred and disgust towards Pip. Orlick began to bully Pip. Without Orlick, viewers are unable to see the characteristics of his cruelty, and the unpleasant feeling, atmosphere that he gives towards people and the protagonist. Another difference between the novel and the film was that some characters are represented differently.
Dickens portrays Estella as a cold hearted, unloving and one whose goal is to break others men’s hearts in the novel. She shows no feelings of love towards men and especially not towards Pip. In the film, Holliday Grainger, the one who played Estella poorly presented Estella. For example, when Pip comes back to see Estella and Miss. Havisham, She speaks to him with care and love, showing her feelings and affections towards Pip.
Another character that was poorly presented in the film was Wemmick. In the novel, Dickens showed his dual personality between his “Office “and “Walworth” personality. Although his “Walworth” personality was shown in the film, his office personality was not. At the office, he seems to have his loving and kind personality towards others and especially to Pip.
These changes make the viewers view Estella and Wemmick a completely different way, not the way that Charles Dickens’s intended. In the film of Great Expectations, there was no narration. Dickens wrote the novel from the point of view of the protagonist Pip. Throughout the novel, Pip usually spends most of his time expressing his feelings and thoughts through narration.
In fact, Newell did not portray fully the details of Pip’s love for Estella.In the novel, through the narrations, Pip expresses his feelings and love for Estella and his love for her was the reason why he wanted to become a gentleman, wanting to impress her. In the film, it seems that Pip only lust over Estella and makes it seems that he is only attracted to her because of her appearance. Jeremy Irvine, the actor of Pip uses dialogue and actions to portray Pip’s feelings and emotions. Although the dialogue and actions help the audience know about Pip’s character, viewers are unable to identify the true feelings and emotions Pip has towards Estella. The film Great Expectations is similar in comparison to Dicken’s novel.
However the omission of certain characters, the way characters are presented, and the narration make the film different enough to illicit a different response from the viewer as opposed to the reader. This difference in response indicates that the film is not an adequate representation of the novel.
