This is an epic and unexpected period tale with some rather out of place modern touches to the story. It covers quite a sweeping journey from orphanage to whorehouse to art to class differences to the New World. Whatever the differences from the novel, it is a moderately watchable movie.There are some hits and misses with the casting. Robin Wright in the title role is a bit old for the role - when she tries to play a virgin wench it's a bit frightful. Might have been better to use a different actress for the earlier part and then switch to her. Stockard Channing is suitably grotesque as the madam. Morgan Freeman is watchable even though his accent is neither here nor there. The English cast is more convincing but I guess they needed some international names for box office draw.Overall worth a watch but not a great movie.

This is a period piece, set in the 18th century. There are lots of characters but only 4 that really count. The actors who play these 4 must really be good, and they all are. Mostly paced deliberately, with little action, it pays off for the patient viewer who likes to read a good book or watch a good story unfold.Robin Wright Penn is the central character Moll Flanders. She was born to an imprisoned woman, who was hanged right after. Moll was raised in orphanages and foster homes, but eventually found herself at a home with a red light in front, a brothel. That she eventually became a "working girl" out of necessity also resulted in her escape from that life. Morgan Freeman is Hibble, and for most of the story is seen finding and escorting via carriage a young girl of 9 or 10 from an orphanage to an unknown destination. He is to read to her along the journey from a journal. It was written by the mother the girl never knew, and who we find is Moll Flanders. It is his reading from this journal that we begin to see, as the movie, told in a flashback format.Stockard Channing is Mrs. Allworthy, the madam of the brothel, and the mother figure that Moll never had. But she is also the one who auctioned off Moll's virginity.The fourth key character is John Lynch as the Artist. He shows up at the brothel long after Moll had become undesirable. He was looking for a girl, the cheaper the better, for he had not much money. We find out later that his father is wealthy, but this artist had gone off on his own to make his career. He only wanted Moll as a model, and not to sleep with. Good story, good movie, the cinematography is outstanding.SPOILERS: Hibble is to take the girl to the new world, America. In a flashback the artist, now her husband, had died and we see that struggling Moll had left her daughter temporarily in the care of a friend, but when Mrs Allworthy showed up unexpectedly and captured Moll to bring her to the new world, the baby was left behind. We also see that the ship encountered a storm and was shipwrecked and, as Hibble narrated, "The name of Moll Flanders went down with the ship." Which was a giveaway to the ending, Moll Flanders didn't die, only her name. Mrs Allworthy actually died and Moll took her name, and her fortune. Hibble was her ally. The movie ends with Moll and her daughter being reunited.

Defoe's original novel, even after all these years, is funny, sad, entertaining and fast-moving. The film is basically only sad, with little resemblance to the novel. It is also dreadfully slow in parts. Some of the acting is good- Stockard Channing makes an excellent Madam, and Aisling Corcoran as the little girl is splendid, producing the few flashes of humour, and there are some very nice cameo parts from well-known British and Irish actors. However, Morgan Freeman (normally a very good actor) seems to have a rather variable accent and to be wondering how he got into this film (not quite Dick van Dyke in Mary Poppins, but...), and Robin Wright doesn't really convince me as a lower-class London girl. The costumes and settings give a good impression of what must have been a much less colourful world- particularly effective are the candle-lit indoor scenes. We get an interesting glimpse of the life and customs of late 17th-century/early 18th century England. However, there are some strange anachronisms- for instance, according to the novel, Moll was born in about 1614, but the clients at Mrs Allworthy's house seem to pay with bank-notes, which would have been extremely unusual at that time. Also I doubt that any little girl (even a feisty one like this) brought up in a Catholic orphanage would have used such strong language. This is nit-picking, I know, and it's only a film, but it's a pity that, with a bit more attention to the story-line and the script, the film could have been so much better.

I was so excited when I saw that there was a movie version of Moll Flanders. It is, perhaps, my favorite book of all time. I put on the movie, curled up w/ some popcorn and a drink, and waited to be awed. Well, I was awed, but not in a good way. This movie had absolutely nothing to do with the book! The only thing it has in common is the title, and the fact that Moll's mother had given birth to her while in prison. Other than that- nothing! Moll was NOT a prostitute, like the movie portrayed. Granted, in the novel, she did go through husbands quite quickly. But they were marriages! If I had never read the book, I would have deeply enjoyed this movie. I love all the actors in the movie. Morgan Freeman is one of my favorite male actors. But, I ended up yelling at the TV during the entire movie. I was fortunate enough to see the 1996 British TV version starring Alex Kingston. That was remarkable, and very accurate. I would suggest to everyone to see this version!