Great Expectations

1998
R
1h 51m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

58K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:32

Modernization of Charles Dickens' classic story finds the hapless Finn as a painter in New York City pursuing his unrequited and haughty childhood love.Modernization of Charles Dickens' classic story finds the hapless Finn as a painter in New York City pursuing his unrequited and haughty childhood love.Modernization of Charles Dickens' classic story finds the hapless Finn as a painter in New York City pursuing his unrequited and haughty childhood love.

Director
- Alfonso Cuarón
Writers
- Charles Dickens
- Mitch Glazer
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

58K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,055

Director
- Alfonso Cuarón
Writers
- Charles Dickens
- Mitch Glazer
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations total

Trivia
Ethan Hawke later admitted he was not fond of the story due to its main theme of classism but was intrigued by Alfonso Cuarón's artistic modernization of it and was eager to work with him and Robert De Niro. He also notes that despite good reviews, it did not do well in the box office due to it being released during James Cameron's Titanic (1997) mania, but did rather well in the home rental market, VHS (and DVD) sales, and movie channel views. To this day, people still approach Hawke and tell him this is one of their favorite romantic movies.

Goofs
Estella says "I will go to France tomorrow." in French: "Je vais aller à France demain." This is incorrect French. The correct version would be: "Je vais aller en France demain."

Quotes
Finn: What's it like not to feel anything?
Estella: Let's say there was a little girl, and from the time she could understand, she was taught to fear... let's say she was taught to fear daylight. She was taught that it was her enemy, that it would hurt her. And then one sunny day, you ask her to go outside and play and she won't. You can't be angry at her can you?
Finn: I knew that little girl and I saw the light in her eyes, and no matter what you say or do, that's still what I see.
Estella: We are who we are. People don't change.

Crazy credits
The credits are accompanied by images of all the artwork drawn by Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke). They run the entire duration of credits.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Spice World/Hard Rain/Fallen/The Gingerbread Man/Phantoms/Star Kid (1998)

Soundtracks
Break My Back
Written by Alan Mirikitani
Performed by Buddha Heads (as Buddah Heads)
Courtesy of Windswept Pacific Entertainment Co.

User reviews229

Review

Featured review

7/10

Interesting adaptation of the classic novel

Good romantic-drama, based on Charles Dickens' classic novel. I haven't read the book, so can't say how faithful this adaptation is (obviously, it has been modernized). The transplanting into the modern day doesn't suffer from the usual stuffiness that such adaptations usually suffer from (eg Baz Luhrman's Romeo & Juliet), and feels like a modern romantic-drama.

Solid direction from Alfonso Cuaron. Pacing is generally good, though there are one or two patches where the movie drifts.

Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow are solid, though not spectacular, in the lead roles. Good support from Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft and Robert De Niro.