Saw Great Expectations (1946), an adaptation of the famous Dickens story which follows the protagonist Pip's adventures being thrust into high society and then back out again. Throughout the story children are made into wealthy individuals. Contrasted with the protagonist is the love interest Estella, who is being raised to be heartbreaker by the sinister Miss Havisham.
The film feels very professional. It's not bad, but it's not terribly exciting either. It feels like a fairly rote recitation of the story, well done but stiff and over-rehearsed. I feel like I'm meant to draw some meaning or lesson from the film but I don't know what that might be. Pip becomes rich, learns the identity of his benefactor, fails to melt Estella's icy heart. It all seems like a bunch of stuff that happens. There's some words to be said about class and how kindness is separate from that and perhaps in Dickens's time that was enough but today it feels a bit limp.
This limpness is revealed to be systemic by the weak ending. The ending of a prestige film like this needs to wrap everything up in a coherent way and this film fails to do so here. Questions of class and wealth and upbringing are swept aside as the love story takes centre stage. Apparently Dickens himself changed the ending post-publication and this film's screenwriting team had trouble with the ending as well. Without some viewpoint or message, it's a tricky story. It's not really fun enough to be a romp and not coherent enough to be a lesson. It's just a bunch of stuff that happens.
So, the film was alright, just stiff and kind of lifeless. Some of the scenes and characters are perfect (Mr Jaggers is perfect and Miss Havisham is pretty good too) but most of the film is just things happening kind of at random. I think I missed the point here.
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