"It is the journey, not its end, that is what teaches."

One of the drawbacks of dating a cop is the occasional lonely night snuggled up with the VCR and the cat. This movie made such an evening downright enjoyable for me.

As an adaptation of the Dickens classic, Great Expectations succeeds on many levels. Here’s how and why:

1.) Plot and Characters – 9 out of 10. NOTE – FEW, IF ANY SPOILERS HERE It is the 1970s. A young boy,Finn Bell, who lives in the tropical idyll of Florida’s Gulf Coast, likes to draw and does it well. After a rather scary sequence where he helps an escaped convict played with Mafioso menace by Robert DeNiro, his rather squalid existence resumes. He is being raised by his restless and rather trampy sister Maggie and her live-in boyfriend Joe. It is abundantly clear that Joe’s paternal affection for Finn is deep and true – and I wish I could remember the actor’s name who played him, as he did an outstanding job. On a gardening assignment, Joe and Finn meet Miss Dinsmore. Anne Bancroft endows Miss Dinsmore with a loony charm and strangeness that are a real rival for the corresponding Dickens character Miss Havisham. You see, Miss Dinsmore had been jilted at the altar some years previously, and now wanders her crumbling mansion in bizarre (but elegant) 1960’s clothing and wigs, a caricature of faded loveliness. Her creepy garden is still set for the reception that never happened. She is also “the richest woman in the State of Florida”. And so we also meet, without any explanation of her parentage, her lovely – but ice cold - young ward, Estella. After this eminently satisfactory introduction, we are given a window into their lives as they progress from the 1970s to the present.

Finn’s and Estella’s lives are entwined throughout the story. This is not an accident. However, as Finn’s fortunes change, it becomes less and less clear where their lives are going, who they are becoming, and whether their love is strong enough to prevail over the obstacles fate has put in the way. An Asian saying comes to mind – “It is the journey, not its end, that is what teaches.” And boy, does it ever. There are a few plot holes, but I will cover this in the next section. None of these holes “kill” the story, or even do it any serious damage. But some editing might have rectified them.

2.) Acting - 7 out of 10 This is what happens when you put several actors of varying skill levels in an ambitious film. The more experienced and talented ones outshine the younger, less skilled ones. This happens here to jarring effect.

Finn – Ethan Hawke. He’s good-lookin’, in an Everyman kind of way. But he frequently looks startled and confused. (Note: his character is supposed to be a bit overwhelmed by life and its twists and turns. But you shouldn’t look dazed when caressing your beloved’s leg, even if your beloved is Gwyneth Paltrow.) His lines are delivered convincingly sometimes, not so much at others. His character development is stellar, but overall, his performance only rates a C.

Estella – Gwyneth Paltrow. She’s good. How can I say this? Well, I doubt that she’s a nasty person by nature, and playing this character must have been a stretch. Her Estella struggles against everything she has been taught about love and relationships. Watch for the scene where she and Finn are in a taxi in New York. She explains herself – and how she approached the role of Estella, in three succinct sentences. It doesn’t hurt that she’s beautiful, wears clothes well, and has a lovely voice. You may not recognize her as the public Gwyneth we’ve all seen at award ceremonies until the final scene. Her character is not really supposed to develop until the very end, despite being given several chances to do so. I would have like to see more of her life towards the end of the movie.

Miss Dinsmore – Anne Bancroft. A scene stealer. Her mad, mod portrayal of a 1950s era debutante gone mad is eerie, funny, and disturbing – sometimes all at once. Example: Young Finn wanders into her room, and in an attempt to make conversation, says of her big Maine Coon cat, “That’s a big cat. It’s the biggest cat I’ve ever seen! What do you feed it?”

“Other cats!”, she hisses, lunging forward. Finn recoils, and so will you.

She dances around to “Besame Mucho” and other Doris Day / Petula Clark hits of the day, kicking up a heel and saying “Chick-a-boom!”. Okay, she’s nuts, but, ”Chick-a-boom?!?!?”. Delivered by her, through Chanel-caked lips under hooded Cleopatra eyelids, it becomes both fearsome and funny. Her clothing, wigs and makeup are beyond bizarre, and offer a hint of the madness within. Her sad, sad, realization of the evil she has wrought and the lives she has scarred is convincing, but too short.

The Convict – Robert DeNiro In the original Dickens, the Convict appears three times. Here, it’s only two. I feel strongly that a third appearance would have added much to the film. As character development is an underlying theme, limiting DeNiro’s strong performance to a handful of scenes between the beginning and end of the film detracted from it. That said – DeNiro is riveting, as always, both in his scary menace, and gentle grace.

Supporting cast – various. Here at last we have some uniformity. They are all convincing: the English art dealer, Joe, various artsy types, etc. all deliver lines well and serve to actually “support” the main cast. The movie would not be complete without them.

3.) Sets and cinematography - 8 out of 10. The Florida Gulf Coast’s wild beauty – and squalid “other side” are shown in the same flat light found in 1970s-era photos. It’s visually perfect to set the tone for the opening of the movie. “Paradiso/Perduto” – Miss Dinsmore’s crumbling estate, is beautiful and sad; living on Long Island has made me a hopeless case for aging Gilded Age houses. The director’s New York City is not mine – it is dangerous, loud, scary, and filled with pretentious and brittle people. I suppose it was meant to evoke Dickens’ 1860s London, but it fails. Manhattan hasn’t looked and felt like this since 1985 or so. Ah, but near the end of the film, a magnificent aerial shot of lower Manhattan tore at my heart. In it, The World Trade Center Towers rise tall and proud, like nothing ever happened.

Not a bad cinematic journey for a rainy, cold, and hug-less evening.