Review of Great Expecations Movie versus the book
Review of Great Expecations Movie (versus Book)
"I'm not going to tell this story the way it happened. I'm going to tell it the way I remember it." This is how Finn, Ethan Hawke, introduces the movie based on Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. “Great Expectations” updates Charles Dickens' novel by setting it in modern times instead of the 1810s to the 1830s. It changes the story from rural England and London to the Florida and New York City. The movie follows the romance of two people Finn and Estella (played by, Gwyneth Paltrow) from childhood to adulthood.
"Great Expectations" is a story about how love can separate a person from the people who love him best, and from his own best instincts. Finn rejects the honest and simple man, Joe (played by, Chris Cooper), who raises him. He calls up every conflict people ever feel between desiring for the larger world and wishing to remain loyal to the smaller one they come from. “Great Expectations” is a story that the public can relate to because at some point, everyone goes through the struggles that Finn must battle. It shows that possessions and wealth do not change who people are inside, and that finding one’s self can be a long process. What stands out in Great Expectations, even more than the wonderful performances, is the picture making. The camera moves in sensuous ways making the movie seem ravishing.
The movie begins in a quiet Florida fishing village in the ‘70s. Finn Bell is a ten year-old orphan boy who lives with his sister (who runs off one night and is never seen from again) and her boyfriend, Joe. One afternoon, while drawing the fish in the shallow Gulf waters, an escaped convict, Lustig (played by Robert DeNiro), rises out of the water grabs the boy and scares him into bringing food and tools to help him break out of his shackles. Finn shows Lustig kindness, an act that is not forgotten, even after they make their separate ways. Even though Finn was scared of Lustig and could of report him or not help him at all, he chose to be very nice and not only he did not tell on him but also brought him painkillers and alcohol. I think Lustig knew that Finn was scared of him and would probably do what he was told but he was somewhat surprised and...