GREAT EXPECTATION

GREAT EXPECTATION



GREAT EXPECTATION

Background

The very juvenile and very poor protagonist, Finnegan Bell (Jeremy James Kissner), is first seen at the age of eight, dwelling in a calm Florida fishing village with his older sister (who runs off one evening and is not ever seen from again) and her beau, Uncle Joe (Chris Cooper, last seen in "Lone Star"). One afternoon, while sketching the fish in the shallow Gulf waters, an escaped convict (Robert De Niro, showing considerably more power than his latest outings in "Jackie Brown" and "Wag the Dog") rises out of the water and grabs contain of the young man, forcing him to aid his escape from the law. Finn shows the convict compassion, an act that is not disregarded, even after they make their separate ways when Finn's rowboat is stumbled upon by a policeman boat.

Great Expectations is the latest cinematic incarnation of what is considered Charles Dickens' darkest innovative, and despite the contemporary setting, it remains factual to the themes of the Victorian-era romance: unrequited love, the conquering of class barriers, and the mysteries of fate and destiny. And though it is saddled with an uninspiring script that lacks the emotional beats requisite for a romance based on such wealthy source material, Alfonso Cuaron has crafted an elegant and picturesque fairy-tale, a borrowing to his skill as a director.

A poor young man from Florida, Finn Bell helps a convict, Arthur Lusting, run from the police. A couple of days later the convict gets back in prison and it's waiting for his execution. Finn then forgets about Arthur as he becomes some kind of entertainer for the richest lady in the shire, Miss Dinsmoor and her niece, beautiful Estella. As the years pass, he falls in love with her, but the young female acts ambiguous. After she leaves to study overseas, he overlooks about all his dreams. But then he's suggested a new chance. An unidentified benefactor (whom finn suspects to be Miss Dinsmoor) offers him all the means necessary to have an art exhibiton in New York. He departs to New York, where he stumbles into Estella, appreciating that he still loves her. But the young female has a beau, although they seem to be flawless for each other. When one evening he runs after her and takes her back to his apartment, everything seems to be clear.PBS

Internet Movie Database lists seven distinct versions of ...