Lesson Learned

This updated film version of the classic novel is incredible. I enjoyed it completely, but I can also understand why someone would feel differently about this movie. I rented it on my own, then re-rented it to watch with my husband. I loved it even more the second time I watched it - my husband thought it was terrible.

The acting is just part of the reason I loved this movie so much. Robert De Niro is a great Lustig. He's believably scary and effective as the secret benefactor. Although I'm not a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan, she shines as the beautiful, teasing Estella. Anne Bancroft does an excellent Nora Dinsmoor, which seems to be a part that could be easily overdone. Ethan Hawke is wonderfully naive as Finn Belle and he shows his character grow more wise throughout the film. Sometimes you'll see a movie and say "Well, this actor do great and so did this one but such-and-such was terrible or not good for that role." Not so in Great Expectations - casting was completed with great expertise.

The story is classic Dickens, peppered with irony. It's a beautiful love story of sorts as well as a coming-of-age tale. There's a moral to this story and that lies with the title.

I can't fully explain why I liked this updated version so much. Yes, the acting is great and the story is wonderful, but there's something else very interesting to me about this movie that I can't describe. I've just bought it on DVD so I can watch it a few more gazillion times - alone - as I mentioned, hubby did not like it. You may not either, but it's certainly worth renting the film now that it's out on both VHS and DVD.