GREAT EXPECTATIONS October 2021

David Lean
Great Britain 1946

Although the film takes great liberties with my favourite novel by Charles Dickens, the film director renders with cinematic virtuosity the gothic atmosphere and unique characters of the writer’s masterpiece. The film tells the story of poor Pip, an orphan growing up in very modest circumstances on the marshes of the Thames Estuary. His life is coloured by a series of exceptional events, which suggest the benevolent hand of destiny, until a cruel reality causes the fairy tale to crumble. As well as being a great story, Great Expectations reveals much of the hypocrisy and social injustice of 19th century England.
In keeping with spirit of Hollywood (and Pinewood Studios), and unlike Dickens’s original novel,
the film benefits from a happy ending.

Mark

Language level:

Despite the odd 18th century anachronism (see vocabulary list below), the film is relatively easy to follow. The clear and elegant diction of principal actors also makes the film accessible to students of English.

Key words and expressions:

I ain’t made my mind up
Blacksmith
Irons, file
Wittles = victuals (food)?
Upright
Heaven strike me dead!
Liver, heart
Tickler, stick
Towel betwixt you
Churchyard
An escaped convict
Ask no questions you’ll be told no lies
Hulk – rotting prison ship
Marsh
Pork pie
Thief
Ague = malarial like fever
Scar
Princely dinner
Chase
Throw your eye over
Musket
Pampered
Mooncalves
Loiter
Sick fancy
Beg my neighbour (game)
He calls naves jacks
Coarse monster
Wretch
The days have worn away
Heap of decay
Mice have gnawed at it
Young fellow
Who gave you leave?
A blessing to the household
Behave yourself
No bounds
I’m the bearer of an offer
Handsome property
Befit
Bear the name
Liberal benefactor
Dumbfounded
Abroad
What larks!
Witness
Settle
Good lead
He’s as deep as Australia
Wild beast tamed
Musty
Prowling boy
She’s a tartar
Reek revenge
Hint
Heiress
Pursue
Lay waste
Carry on
Get on
Rate
Hence
Disclose
Swindler
Pester
Shed tears
While away
Thrive
Hover
Moth
Deceive and trap
Gay man
Harshly
Shivering
I swear by…
Split
Oath
Felony
Whim
Dismissed get wind of
Puzzled
Aye = yes
Hanged
Prisoner at the bar
Whipped caste out
Pretty nigh, old chap
Fret

This is a curious black and white movie with sets, costumes and haircuts, which beautifully evoke the 18th century. I liked the huge dresses of the women, but the men’s hats and costumes made me smile, especially Pip’s ridiculously huge bow tie when he first came to London.

The little orphan is surrounded by interesting characters whose lives are intertwined: Joe his nice brother-in-law who is like a father to the boy, Miss Havisham the crazy witch for whom time has stopped, Estella the hellcat who is educated to break men’s hearts, Magwitch the escaped prisoner, and Jaggers the lawyer who intervene more than we think in their lives.

My favorite passage could be the fight between the two kids in the garden (nice punch Pip!) and later the apologies of the loser for the thrashing (that he never gave!).

The young blacksmith wants to become a gentleman and will discover that the obvious is not always the truth! Pip shouldn’t forget the people who love him and be so grateful to others who don’t deserve his gratitude: what a perfectly arrogant snob when he welcomes Joe who was visiting him in London!

Now I would like to read Dickens’s novel to have more details and to discover the real ending of the novel…

Maud DESCANCTIS