After a film-maker's artistic sensibilities have been called into question by having directed a less than charitably received big screen showcase of a computer game character, what better way to reassert ones anti-philistinism than with a classical adaptation? None, surely- and this is the clearly the logic being pursued by
Mike Newell- whom
it was announced today, would be directing the first (and probably not the last) major big screen version of Charles Dickens
Great Expectations this century. Details are especially hazy at this point and the new movie seems to be at the earliest stages of planning, although Stephen Wooley (Crying Game) and Elizabeth Karlsen (Made in Dagenham) have been named as likely producers. The two major Hollywood adaptations of Dickens novel thus far have enjoyed mixed fortunes. The 1948 version- once again made by an English director; in this case, David Lean- earned multiple Oscar awards and nominations, whereas a contemporaneous version set in New York by Alfonso Cuarón, was broadly greeted as a massive disappointment, in spite of boasting actors like De Niro, Paltrow and Ethan Hawke.
Newell has, apparently, vowed to take the source material in a new direction, without being drawn on specifics. Certainly, the veteran English director will be aware what a successfully realised Dickens narrative can do for a film-makers reputation. Potentially more importantly for Newell, however, is the legacy of outstanding BBC series of all manner of Dickens texts that will have helped shaped his vision of the author, as with many children in the UK growing up. As such, Newell will be aware that the bar set is a high one, and one he must reach to bury the ghost of Prince of Persia.