The new adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations will soon complete filming after a 10 week shoot.
Young orphan Pip is given a chance to rise from his humble beginnings thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Moving through London’s class ridden world as a gentleman, Pip uses his new found position to pursue the beautiful Estella; a spoilt heiress he’s loved since childhood. Yet the shocking truth behind his great fortune will have devastating consequences for everything he holds dear.
This latest version of the classic novel has been penned by screenwriter and novelist David Nicholls (One Day) and directed by Mike Newell, BAFTA award winning director of Four Weddings and A Funeral and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. A high calibre ensemble cast were also involved including Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, Ralph Fiennes as the convict Magwitch, Robbie Coltrane as Jaggers and newcomer Jeremy Irvine, fresh from his lead role in Spielberg’s War Horse, as Pip. They are joined by Ewen Bremner, Jason Flemyng, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Outhwaite, David Walliams and Holliday Grainger as Estella.
Director Mike Newell has said “Great Expectations’ has been a book that has haunted me since childhood and it is a privilege to bring to the screen one of the greatest stories in the world. David Nicholls' screenplay has brought Charles Dickens' work to life for a new audience young and old, reminding us that, in two hundred years, so little has fundamentally changed in our world. And, as always, human nature triumphs over adversity.”
Great Expectations is produced by award winning partners Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley (Made in Dagenham, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, The Crying Game) and the film has been financed by BBC Films, the BFI Film Fund and US based Ulti-Media Group.
Chris Collins, Senior Production Executive at the British Film Institute, added: “The BFI is delighted to help make this film possible. Dickens' classic story, brilliantly adapted by David Nicholls, along with Mike Newell's direction and the superb array of British acting talent suggest that this production will itself become a classic of British cinema.”
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