There have been almost two dozen theatrical, small-screen and stage adaptions of “Great Expectations” in the 150 years since Charles Dickens first published his classic story. However, this 2012 film adaptation from acclaimed director Mike Newell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) was my first introduction to the source material.

The story finds the young orphan Philip Pirrip (Toby Irvine)—who goes by the nickname “Pip”—living with his hot-tempered adult sister (Sally Hawkins) and her husband blacksmith Joe Gargery (Jason Flemyng). One afternoon, while Pip is visiting his parents’ grave, he runs into escaped convict Abel Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes). Pip is kind to the man, feeding him, treating him with respect, and keeping his escape a secret. However, the police soon find Magwitch and haul him off to jail.

Joe sees Pip more as his best friend than a son, and looks forward to the day when Pip will become his apprentice. However, Pip’s uncle Mr. Pumblechook (David Walliams) sees an opportunity for Pip to improve his lot in life, and when he sees that pale, rich shut-in Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter) is looking for a boy to entertain her, he offers her Pip’s services. He visits her stately mansion daily, where he finds himself falling for Miss Havisham young adopted daughter Estella (Helena Barlow). But she is cold and emotionless like her mother, and doesn’t seem interested in Pip. Without reason, Miss Havisham abruptly informs Pip that his services are no longer needed at the mansion, and so he doesn’t see Estella or her mother again for the next 20 years or so.

A more mature Pip (Jeremy Irvine) is now working as Joe’s apprentice When a lawyer named Jaggers (Robbie Coltrane) informs him that he has a mysterious benefactor who has left money for Pip to become a gentleman. Pip moves to London where he boards with Herbert Pocket (Olly Alexander), and joins a gentleman’s club. Pip hopes that with his new stature he can reunite with Estella (Holliday Grainger), but his new foe Bentley Drummle (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) also has his sights set on her. And to make matters worse, Pip learns the dark truth about his unnamed benefactor, which may cause his whole new world to come crashing down.

Since I am unfamiliar with Dickens’ original source material, I can’t really speak to how faithful this adaptation is, but I found the story and characters to be quite interesting. Just when I thought I had things figured out, there was another unexpected twist or turn to keep me guessing. Along with the drama and mystery, there was also plenty of humor to lighten things up when needed.

The performances were quite good, especially the Irvine brothers who play Pip in two different stages of his life. It was a great idea to cast brothers, because you really get a sense that this is the same character grown up. Ralph Fiennes brings a toughness & intensity, but also a warmness to his character of Magwitch, while Jason Flemyng really plays the simple optimist Joe brilliantly. And bringing in a lot of the humor are Olly Alexander as Herbert and David Walliams and Pumblechook. If there was one disappointment for me, it was Helena Bonham Carter—I’m not generally a huge fan of her work, and here she is playing the same over-costumed, strange character she seems to play in all of her films.

The film itself looks beautiful—from the marshlands of Pip’s home town to the stately homes and busy streets of London, everything looked quite authentic. And the Blu-ray captured all of this perfectly. The audio track sounds great, successfully delivering ambiance and dialogue along with the film’s score. The bonus features on the disc are quite slim—just one short Q&A featurette from the film’s premiere, along with the theatrical trailer and a digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:08:26)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.35:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 4/15/2017):

• UltraViolet DigitalHD Copy redeemable via Flixster, Google Play or Vudu

Extras:

• Great Expectations: Premiere (3:37)
  Footage from the premiere—includes viewer reactions and interviews with producers David Faigenblum, Elizabeth Karlsen, and Emanuel Michael, actor Robbie Coltrane (“Jaggers”), and director Mike Newell.
• Great Expectations: Trailer (2:29)

Final Thoughts:

I have not seen any of the other numerous adaptations of Charles Dickens’ “Great Expectations” nor have I read the source material. However, I found this film to be a very entertaining and filled with excellent performances. The film looks and sounds great on this Blu-ray, however, the disc is extremely slim on bonus features. That said, the disc is definitely worth checking out.