Movie review: Great Expectations

Most of us have an idea of the general plot of Great Expectations, having being forced to read it at some point in our high-school-English years. Boy named Pip lives with his sister and her husband. A convict named Magwitch, escaped from a prison ship, happens upon Pip and persuades him to assist with his escape. At around the same time, the local landowner, the mad recluse Miss Haversham takes a liking to Pip and arranges for him to regularly visit her and her adopted daughter Estella, who is as proud and cold as she is beautiful.

Many years later, Pip comes into a mysterious fortune – the ‘great expectations’ of the title – and goes off to become a gentleman in London. He fritters away his cash without thought or plan, dragging others down with him and losing sight of the places and the people he came from. The eventual revealment of his mysterious benefactor and the resolution of the convoluted relationships breaks down what little Pip thought he knew of the world, but he finds a sort of redemption through the forgiveness of others.

 

This latest adaptation is a BBC production with the accompanying top-level British acting talent to match. Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch the convict, Helena Bonham Carter as the disappointed and vindictive Miss Haversham fits like a glove and Robbie Coltrane as the entangled and conniving solicitor Jaggers are the leads to the smattering of familiar faces that make up the cast.

Ralph Fiennes as Abel Magwitch

As with any adaptation of classic, lengthy literature, a lot of the plot is left out or compounded. Personally, I think that in the case of Great Expectations this can only improve what was an unnecessarily drawn-out novel, issued as it was by Dickens as chapter-length installments in a magazine he wrote and published. A movie is a cut-to-the-bone version of the story and for me, this makes the interminable morbidity and accent-indulgent works of Dickens vastly improved.

Along with cutting down, the movie-makers have taken great liberties with the plot, speeding up the action and doling out endings as they see fit. I understand that changes need to be made to transform a book into a film, but in this case certain lines of literary decency were definitely crossed. If I were a Dickens admirer I would likely be horrified, as I am at overly spliced adaptations of Jane Austin.

As with almost all recent period pieces, the look of the film is stunning. The moors Pip is raised on are bleak and beautiful. Satis House and the great decaying wedding feast are a picture of despair, London is as dank and disease-ridden in which amongst the desperate and hateful characters, Pip's delightful friend Hubert Pocket (Olly Alexander) shines. He is one the few light, friendly characters in what is the usual Dickens dramatis personae of oily money money-grubbers, child-beaters and blackguards. 

 The decayed grandeur of Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham-Carter).

Five for Friday no. 42

A book for the children: an alphabet of terrible advice.

Another reason to go to Paris - like you needed one. An art installation of an inflatable trampoline bridge across the river Seine.
 

Fairytales for 20-somethings.  

Costume books released by the Metropolitan Museum of Art online. 

25 most devoted fan bases. Seriously interesting.

 Fans of the show 'Community' come in at no.13.

TV review: Pan Am

I am quite aware of how ridiculous it must seem, to be reviewing a TV show that only lasted one season before getting cancelled earlier this year.

However, I have only just discovered Pan Am and I thought the chances that other people had heard of it at all weren't high so I was safe to do a review without too much ‘Euch...so last season…’ eye rolling.

Pan Am, named after the iconic Pan American World Airways, follows a group of stewardesses and pilots living the glamorous life of Pan Am employees in the swinging 60s.  All the ingredients for a successful drama are there from episode one. The 60s had so much going for it as a decade for screen drama. Women's liberation, the Cold War, the breakdown of the traditional class systems to be replaced by an idealised meritocracy and the rise of the working woman. It's all there in Pan Am, perfectly exemplified by the 20-something girls taking charges of their lives, not prepared to settle just yet for marriage and children, but preferring to assert their independence and take to the skies.

The four stewardesses who make up the core team in Pan Am are led by Maggie (Christina Ricci), the purser and also the rebellious at-home-bohemian who is enjoying life to the full. Karine Vanasse plays the subtly chic and world-wise Colette, the only non-American on the team. Laura (Maggie Robbie) is the newest recruit, having run away from her picture-perfect wedding to join her sister Kate (Kelli Garner) in her life as an independent woman. But behind the perfect eyeliner their stories are so much more. Colette lived through the horrors of Nazi-occupied France, co-pilot Ted is intensely angry and unable to deal with the changing class system and Kate is drafted into the CIA and slowly drawn deeper and deeper into Cold War espionage.

Maggie, Kate, Colette and Laura. Exemplary Pan Am stewardesses.

So, I've been watching The Borgias. And I have to say, I give it two thumbs up. It's got a great cast, wonderful costuming and set dressing, and it's full of murder, sex and intrigue. Exactly my kind of TV. Although, really, what's not to like about a show about a controversial Pope and his illegitimate children? (Especially one created by Neil Jordan. Yes, that Neil Jordan.)

The Pope plotting with Cesare.

The show starts off with the death of Pope Innocent VIII, and Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, played by Jeremy Irons, immediately begins his machinations to succeed him. His eldest son, Cesare Borgia, played by Francois Arnaud, is Bishop of Pamplona and his father's right-hand man when it comes to bribes and threats. He helps to ensure Rodrigo's ascendancy, and then he goes on to protect his father's rule and the rest of the Borgia family during the ongoing power struggle. He enlists Micheletto, an exceptionally effective hitman played by the awesome Sean Harris, to assist him. Jeremy Irons is excellent as the manipulative Pope, and Arnaud and Harris share excellent master-and-servant chemistry. (Irons' voice always reminds me of Uncle Scar from the Lion King, it's an association I cannot erase, but in this context I find it completely appropriate.)

The show also includes the infamous Lucrezia Borgia. Played by Holliday Grainger, she is first shown as young teenager, unspoilt and lovely. She befriends her father's new mistress, Guilia Farnese, and begins to learn what her role in life will be - someone with little power unless she uses her beauty and wit to her best advantage. Lucrezia's mother Vanozza makes up the third in this triangle of women. She portrays Rodrigo's former mistress and mother of his children, cast over by him once he became Pope.

Guilia and Lucrezia.

The casting here is excellent; Grainger successfully conveys innocence, followed by a growing awareness of her effect on men and capacity for manipulation, and Lotte Verbeek plays Guilia with the kind of guarded awareness and restraint you'd expect from a woman in her position. Johanne Whalley plays Vanozza, and the moments between the three of them are mined with the underlying subtext of the bitterly limited options women had open to them in their lives. Men held all the power, and women were lucky if they were loved enough or pretty enough to be spoken to. Even when they were loved, it was dicey; Lucrezia is bargained off at 14, sold into marriage as part of a larger plan to consolidate Rodrigo's power against threat of a French invasion.

The Pope, getting a headache from his Cardinals.

This show would also, of course, be nothing without its design. The sets and costuming are spectacular, creating a beautiful visual aesthetic that highlights and complements the characters and storyline very strongly. It's not a completely realistic look - everyone's a lot cleaner than they probably would have been, for starters, and it doesn't quite get to HBO-levels of realism (eg. Deadwood, where you feel like you can smell everyone through the TV screen). But there's just enough realism, so that even though some of the costumes are stiff and new, you do still get a clear sense that this was how people lived and interacted, with all these manners and rules, and in these huge houses, or in the Pope's chambers. (There is also the occasional bit of dodgy CGI, but that's most often in the long shots of what's supposed to be 15th century Rome, so I feel I can excuse it.)

Some of the marketing for this show described Rodrigo as the first Godfather, with Cesare as the first consigliere and Lucrezia as the first mob princess. While this is possibly appropriate for Cesare - he was already fairly unscrupulous, and his new BFF the assassin Micheletto merely enables him to branch out into murder - it seems like only a partially accurate description. There are power struggles in The Borgias, sure, but comparing this show to something like the Sopranos is setting up false expectations. Think less organised crime, more power politics. And family drama; Rodrigo craves power, and his whole family pays for it. I suppose they are like a mob family, in their loyalty towards each other and ruthlessness towards anyone standing in their way, but I'd compare them more closely to a political or business dynasty. (Or Game of Thrones, but without the dragons.)

Cesare and Micheletto, negotiating their friendship.

Within the family, Cesare and his brother, Juan, clash frequently, most often because of the careers Rodrigo assigned to them. Cesare would rather be in the army than the clergy, and Juan takes his soldierly duties too lightly but refuses to listen when anyone points this out. The children's illegitimacy is sometimes an issue, and Rodrigo's 'lewdness' is a major factor in the arguments against him as a Pope. Then there's the way everyone sleeps around, and the way Cesare occasionally organises a murder. While I have no idea if this is a realistic portrayal of this infamous family, it all makes for very intriguing TV.

The politics of 15th century Italy are a primary driver for much of what happens, as the Vatican was a huge seat of power in an unintegrated land. Italy of the time was divided into many principalities, all with a variety of rulers, and the security of Borgia's reign depended greatly on his ability to secure allegiances with the great houses - the Medicis in Florence, the Sforzas in the north in Milan and east near Forli, the rulers of Naples, and so on. Rodrigo marries Lucrezia off to the Sforzas and opens communication with Florence, Milan and Naples, but someone else seeks alliances with the major houses - Cardinal della Rovere, played by Colm Feore, whom Borgia defeated in the competition for Pope. He has become determined to see Borgia deposed, and it becomes a race to determine whether Borgia (and Cesare, and Micholetto) can secure his Papacy before della Rovere returns.

I won't tell you how it ends, or give away the many and varied storylines and intrigues I haven't mentioned. You'll just have to get hold of a copy of season 1, and see for yourself. As for me, I can't wait to start watching season 2.

Well? Do you think you could take them on?

TV review: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries

I only realised yesterday that I had missed out on a major reviewing opportunity. For the last 13 weeks I have been obsessed with a TV show and I haven’t mentioned it to anyone! I haven’t even tweeted about it. For 13 weeks Friday nights were about me, a glass of wine, the couch and Miss Phryne Fisher.

The Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries (formerly of ABC1 Fridays at 8:30pm) are set in late 1920s Melbourne. Based accurately on the novels of the same name by Kerry Greenwood, it follows the adventures of lady-detective Phyrne Fisher as she moves effortlessly between Melbourne’s high society and criminal underbelly. Assisting (or hampering) Detective Inspector Jack Robinson in his investigations, Phryne collects along the way a band of waifs and strays including a companion with a lot to learn about life, an impeccable butler, a daughter and a couple of proper Aussie blokes with their hearts in the right place.

I read the first novel in the series – and the TV series – many years ago. I enjoyed it and I considered buying other Phryne Fisher mysteries but I’m not much of a mystery reader. I’m not even much of a mystery watcher. I’m so fussy and particular about my murder mysteries; I only like historical TV series like Miss Fisher and all of the Miss Marples, set pre-1960s. It might have something to do with the PG violence and the clothes. 

There is so much to love about Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. On a purely practical level, it’s well-researched and shot immaculately in and around period Melbourne. Essie Davis as personifies Phryne Fisher and she is supported by a wonderfully Australian cast who are surely enjoying every minute of the production. It’s also delightful to get involved in an Australian TV series. I don’t watch as many as I should. I still regret that I never got into Offspring, I think I would have loved it. 

Back to Miss Fisher. For pure entertainment, it’s a brilliant show. The first word that springs to mind to describe it is Fun. The costumes, sets, characters, writing, all of it is terrific fun. Phryne Fisher is a modern heroine in a modernising time. I would argue, an excellent role model for young women. Having had her fair share of worldly experiences, she’s not going to be stuck in any dull female stereotypes. She’s independent, feisty and not about to be bossed around by anyone. She also has immense style, from her immaculate coiffeur to her crisp white trousers and her pearl-handled gun. I have a little bit of character-envy, if I’m honest.

Sadly, Miss Fisher has ended. There is talk of a second season but I can find no firm information on that. The show was re-played on ABS2 and may still be if you wanted to do some catching up. Otherwise, the DVD of the series is on sale at the ABC shop. 

This is a great Australian series based on novels by a local writer. It is an absolute delight to watch and I would recommend it to anyone.

All images courtesy of the ABC and Kerry Greenwood.