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SkeletonTongue
Reviews
Great Expectations (2011)
Excellent Version
I'm rather surprised by some of the negative reviews here. This was a sumptuous production, extremely well cast and judiciously edited from the book. It went out at peak viewing time over the holiday period and drew in large numbers of viewers primarily because it targeted its audience extremely well. Yes it cuts characters from the book, Biddy for example, but with limited time and for the sake of streamlining the story these are characters only missed if you knew of their existence in the first place. For those new to Dickens and there will many, as every generation arrives at classic literature from it's own direction, it is a great introduction to the novel, which I encourage anyone to pick up and read.
Standout performances are definitely Ray Winstone and Gillian Anderson, both obviously enjoying their roles enormously and inhabiting their characters perfectly. Any misgivings people have to the casting of the 43 year old Anderson as Miss Havisham should be put to one side. She is often presented as far too old a character in previous versions, so to complain that seven or eight years have been knocked off seems kind of redundant. I enjoyed Douglas Booth as Pip, and he managed to make him initially unlikeable and naive, yet eventually more sympathetic, despite being so 'pretty'! Hat's off to Paul Ritter as Wemmick and Harry Lloyd as Herbert Pocket too, both perfect!
Life on Mars (2008)
Missed the mark
Sigh... this could have been so good. Began OK, almost identically to the wonderful UK version, despite some bad editing choices, and the moment 'Sam' looks up and sees what he sees instead of the poster advertising the forthcoming Mancunian Way, is worthy of a 'wow' moment, but then it all goes horribly wrong! Instead of Gene Hunt, Sam's nemesis has become Ray Carling, and Harvey Keitel as Gene, essentially seems along for the ride rather than completely inhabiting his character, and I love Keitel in almost everything he's done. Chris is... forgettable. The new Annie is fine and Gretchen Mol suitably understated, Jason Mara however seems to be channelling Mel Gibson in much of his mannerisms and delivery, and seems too... 'nice' to be Sam. The show feels wonderfully appropriate for its time and the set dressing, feel and overall impression is very 'period', but the occasional use of stock 70's footage pulled me out of 'the moment'. It's not needed. We're already in on the joke.
I enjoyed the series as it progressed, and the characters became more involving, but boy did I feel cheated at the end! It may have been rushed because the show wasn't going to a second series, but the UK one managed to round things off beautifully and neatly with possibly one of the most satisfying endings in television history in only 16 episodes! The US one had 17 to produce the dire Dallas style cop out (pun intended) we were presented with.
Watch for the curiosity value, and if you forget the UK version (is that possible?) you will enjoy it on one level, but really, switch off before the last ten minutes of the last episode. You will live happier and fuller lives if you never see those 600 seconds of utter stomach churning bilge!