The production of this movie is simply disrespecting and blaspheming the novel. The series changed a lot of crucial moments and made the book seem like a cheap $3 publication. Outrageously rubbish.

I actually just finished the book a month ago so it might have adversely affected my opinion since this adaptation is so very different than the book. Without going into details and risk spoilers, I just have to say the casting is subpar, except for Gillian Anderson as Miss Havisham. The streamlining and changes in plots are questionable, the loss of some characters and changes to their actions and personality render them un-Dickensian. There should be enough time in 3 hours to tell a closer story to the original but the 3 hours felt like 6, I was bored and unmoved. I remember watching Bleak House, also with Gillian Anderson, and couldn't get enough, this one, I couldn't wait for it to end.

I had seen the South Park spoof first, and then I had seen the original film from director Sir David Lean starring Sir John Mills and Sir Alec Guinness, so I was intrigued to see that the BBC were making a three part television version, based on the famous book by Charles Dickens. Basically young Phillip 'Pip' Pirrip (Oscar Kennedy) helps the seemingly dangerous escaped convict Abel Magwitch (Ray Winstone), on the moors, break his chains with a chisel, but also gave him some food, before the police catch him and take him back to prison. Pip is an orphan, but lives with his sister (Collision's Claire Rushbrook) and her blacksmith husband Joe Gargery (EastEnders' Shaun Dooley), and they are excited to hear from Pip's uncle Pumblechook (Mark Addy) that the wealthy and secluded Miss Havisham (Gillian Anderson) wants a young man to come round to her mansion a couple of times a week. Naturally Pip is sent round to enquire about the job, and Miss Havisham does find him a suitable candidate, the role is to play with her adopted daughter Estella (Izzy Meikle-Small), who looks down on his common and poor mannerisms and demeanour. Miss Havisham decides that Pip needs to get somewhere in life, so she grants him the money he needs to start an apprenticeship with Joe as a blacksmith, and this last for seven years until Pip (Douglas Booth) is older. The next thing Pip knows, lawyer Jaggers (David Suchet) tells him that a mystery benefactor, who he must not ask questions about until he or she reveals himself or herself, has given him an apprenticeship in London to learn the ways and mannerisms to become a gentleman. So the young man of great expectations go to the city, and he shares quarters Herbert Pocket (Harry Lloyd), who is there also to help him learn to be more like a gentleman and fit into a posh and higher class society. Pip has learnt a lot in his time, and lost the common accent, and he is looking forward to seeing the now also grown up Estella (Vanessa Kirby), and he gets his chance at a big ball that she is attending. She is reasonably impressed with his efforts to become more civilised in the higher class of people, but she does not seem to have any feelings for him like he does for her, and she confesses that her (step) mother makes her fall for men to create the misery she suffered from her fiancé. Eventually Pip does learn the identity of his benefactor, it is not Miss Havisham, it is in fact Abel Magwitch, because of the kindness he was shown on the moors, the young man is for a while appalled, but eventually this feeling fades. The end sees Pip return to see Joe and try and make well with the people he formally lived with, Miss Havisham ends her life by burning herself alive, and Estella does marry Bentley Drummle (Tom Burke), but she and Pip do share a tender moment seeing the wreckage from the fire. Also starring Jack Roth as Dolge Orlick and Paul Rhys as Compeyson. Booth plays the famous lead character very well, Anderson is somewhat more sympathetic than other versions of the old woman who secludes herself, Winstone gets his time as the first scary then interesting character, and the supporting cast members are all good too. Made for television, this film like mini series sticks to the Victorian setting and illustrates it very well, with some dark undertones and themes to fit the story, it feels like a completely experience in a Dickens tale, and a most watchable one, fantastic period drama. Very good!

I've always liked Charles Dickens, both his writing and adaptations of his work. There are several fantastic Dickens adaptations, especially David Lean's Great Expectations(the 1999 version is also very impressive) and Oliver Twist, David Copperfield(1999), Bleak House and Little Dorrit. This Great Expectations I don't think is in the same league of the above adaptations, but it is a very solid adaptation on its own, not superb like RadioTimes said but not the piece of whatever I've read from some people on the message board.Great Expectations(2011) does I feel have its shortcomings. I do agree with some that say it was rather rushed, the details were there but while always interesting and never dull some of it does feel a bit too neat. Some scenes did jar, such as young Pip transforming suddenly into the older Pip, and the very end, which had a that's it feel to it. I also didn't like the decision to cut out Biddy and let Pip's sister live, it didn't add anything to the storytelling, and while harrowing in a sense Magwitch's recapture was rather drawn out.Unfortunately I also have to agree that Douglas Booth and Vanessa Kirby as the adult Pip and Estella were miscast. In some ways, it is a plus that they are closer in age to the characters in the novel than John Mills and Valerie Hobson were in the Lean film but actually I found Lean's leads more believable. Booth is very handsome, maybe too much so, but very wooden. Likewise Kirby came across as too plain, especially compared to Booth which was a little disconcerting, and awkward.Luckily their child counterparts were much better, young Estella was beautiful in looks and cold in manner, and Oscar Kennedy who is every bit as promising as he was in Toast is even better. The support cast are also wonderful, with honourable mentions going to Shaun Dooley, who came across as sympathetic and having a lot more steel, David Suchet's firm Jaggers, Jack Roth as Orlick, Ray Winstone whose acting in the first episode is quite terrifying and especially Gillian Anderson's haunting Miss Havisham.Visually it looks wonderful, it has some beautiful sets and locations while still keeping the evocative atmosphere and not looking too clean. The costumes and photography are also very good, especially Miss Havisham's. The music is often eerie while not ever sounding over-bearing or obvious. The script while not always having Dickens' wit and not following the novel's prose(in fact the language such as Magwitch's description of the second man seems to have been "simplified") is still good and flows well.On top of this, the story even with the rushed or jarring parts is compelling and makes you want to see the rest after the previous episode ends. The characterisation is mostly pleasing particularly at the start with Magwitch, though Pip's shrugging off of Joe seemed out of character. All in all, the series is mostly solid but maybe it was longer(4 or 5 episodes would've been better) and had two better adult leads it could have been even more than it turned out to be. 7/10 for the rest of the cast and the meticulous attention to detail. Bethany Cox