mike Newell's great expectations (2012) the film review and characterisation

In this interpretation I could see although, great expectations on a whole can drag bit to begin with, it was more inviting to continue watching. i also think that this version was more what i envisioned when reading the book when it comes to the characterisation through costume and make-up. not only is it shown visible but the dil also includes the literal meaning of clothing and makeup at the time. in the scene when estella miss havisham and pip first meet estella actually said but he's a common labouring boy when she first saw him. when playing cards she says what course hands he has, what stupid boots he's nothing but a stupid clumsy labouring boy. when pip was asked about her back he said he thinks she is very proud very pretty and very insulting. this showed that quite similarly to today the wealthy cared much more about their appearance than the poor. it might seem weird that thats what stuck out to me when watching this scene as its also the scene where we are introduced to miss havisham. which in my opinion was actually truly amazing. it was an odd mixture of interpretation, very authentic and yet she wasn't drastically aged and her dress wasn't awfully aged either, i think this weirdly made the film bait more realistic as helen bon carter became the character herself and didn't need all of the prosthetics and ageing to embody this. it also makes her bait more relatable to our era as she does look bait high fashion and if modelled properly this look could most likely be seen in magazines.

on miss havishams birthday in the film its really shown how props bring a visual to life, waltzing around the cob webbed table.

when you see them as teenagers i love the interpretation of estella and the way pip admires her from afar hiding, you can now see an ideal young victorian beauty, a small fluffy fringe acuretly portrays the fashionable fringe with loose bouncy curls pinned off her face blowing in the wind. this defiantly shows that she is still young and innocent and also showing her wealth. comparing this to pips friend who is also poor in the film a similar age to estella she had her hair all up and no where near as as neatly there were twists and it actually looked far more complex but also far messy and clearly up for practical working reasons. this shows how mewl has considered wealth into the accuracy of the styling. as esstella ages more her hair does too begin to move further back off her face but never fully up, as the desired beauty was to have it hanging back.



miss havisham of course stays exactly the same throughout all of this period of time which i do question abitas i think with the amount of years it would have taken estella to age as much as they show surely miss havishams appearance would have severally haggard also sleeping in the same clothes hair and make-up constantly, but like i said before her appearance in this film is more approachable and characterised through acting rather than the accuracy of her image.

i find the characterisation of a lot of the males in the middle of the film bait too blatant with the facial hair almost being a bit too theatrical but i guess theres only so much you can do to create these period dramas, and as a practicing make-up artist I'm probably not one to judge.

AHH THEY JUST SAID GREAT EXPECTATIONS.... DONT YOU JUST LOVE IT WHEN A FILM SAYS THE NAME OF THE FILM... IN THE FILM?! ... genius.

when pip returns to miss havisham as a young gentalmen and we have just whitnessed his 'make over'  it really reminded me of first term and watching queen elizabeth get her makeover too. and i loved the contrast of the reveal to a large audience, obviously in elizebeth it is a grand reveal and every one is in awe that she has become such a powerful figure. i think this is what pip envisioned too but instead i love the were's wally scene in which he is shoved into london bustle with men all dressed in black and him standing out like a saw thumb in bright white from head to toe. it is the antithesis of what he had expected and it is very visually pleasing to watch. its decisions like that that i do think make this version of great expectations bait different from the rest. an element of very subtle modernist humour.


an interesting bit of the film has to be the flash back in which miss Havisham is shown on her actual wedding day as she receives the letter. she was stunning and it shows what a wealthy woman would look like at the time. this shows a lot more depth to the film and the building of the character miss havisham as you actually hear the screech she lets out on the moment of realisation.

ESTELLAS HAIR THOUGH?! ok so a bit further on now and she is graceful and beautiful and her hair is so intricate. she still has an extreme arrogance about her character and the hair all adds to it the execution of her hair is immaculate and unique but relevant to the era. as far as character building goes the hair plays a huge role with estella and this is the perfect example.



Another key scene is where pip expresses himself to estella, and estellas reaction is to blame miss havisham for making her this way. you see so many emotions in such a small amount of time and its a very quick moving part of the film but you defiantly get a lot of understanding of the novel from this interpretation. all the emotions you can imagen dickens may have been trying to provoke are heart felt in this scene. miss Havisham's supposed to be crazy and determined with heat red for the male race but this shows that she hurts far deeper than just a generalisation of males she has so much love for estella also.

The film obviously continues much more than this to which the characters only build more. newell has chosen to present the novel on a hole in a different ways than before done, and can say i think it is an enchanted and engaging period drama and the only version of the novell in film that i have enjoyed majority of the way through. and it clearly shows the journey of all the characters.