Hard-hearted woman

Great Expectations

Crit

To those who know of my academic background as well as my cinematic obsession (and you wouldn't be here if you didn't know about the latter), it will seem as strange to you as the realization did to me that not only have I not read the novel, I had never before seen any adaptation of the story save this excellent episode of South Park, which is surprisingly true to the story (though--spoiler alert!--it turns out that the Dickens version includes no robotic flying monkeys).

So I was much more involved in the story itself than all you Dickens buffs, and the best thing I can say about the film--and this is a very good thing indeed--is that I've been contemplating devoting a year to reading a ton of Dickens, and this encourages me further in that ambition. Maybe not 2014--I'm rather leaning toward David Foster Wallace for that calendar year--but sometime in the teens.

One note about the acting: as Miss Havisham, Helena Bonham Carter is every bit as creepy as in any role she's ever performed for her spousal equivalent.