by John Townsend
One thing is certain about the BBC’s new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations: this version will not be shown in schools to students working wearily through what can be a rather slow, meandering tale.
It won’t be shown because character names and basic plot points aside – although even these are no longer sacred amid many changes – this isn’t really Great Expectations. Character motivations are different; the narrative has been streamlined somewhat to be more screenplay than teleplay, and – spoiler alert – the ending is not what you would expect if you had, at some point, been one of those aforementioned students.
That isn’t to say Steven ‘Peaky Blinders’ Knight hasn’t done a good job if his job was to bring some contemporary sensibilities and style. An early scene of Hayley Squires spanking Matt Berry’s Mr Pumblechook exemplifies the rather ‘interesting’ tone, while Ashley Thomas’ Jaggers is more East End gangster than a venerable lawyer;. However, this does, in all honesty, make the character considerably more intriguing.
What sadly isn’t as interesting is the largely dysfunctional relationship between Pip and Estella (the elder versions played with barely restrained contempt by Fionn Whitehead and Shalom Brune-Franklin). As they orbit a world inhabited by the malevolence of this version of Jaggers and by Olivia Coleman’s Moriarty-esque Miss Havisham, they become lost, sunk by their own resentful and piteous brooding.
If you’re a fan of Knight’s other works, then this is the Dickens for you. If you’re more of a traditionalist, perhaps check out the BBC’s 2011 version. And if neither appeals it’s likely there will be another one along soon anyway.
Great Expectations is available on BBC iPlayer.
