After watching so many horror movies in October, the Watch With Us team could really use a palate cleanser to start November.
Fortunately, Hulu has just the thing to get our minds off of supernatural monsters and creatures of the night.
Director Alfonso Cuarón‘s 1998 adaptation of Charles Dickens‘ Great Expectations is now streaming on Hulu, and it’s still a vastly underappreciated romance film.
To help make our case, we’ve selected four reasons you should watch Great Expectations this weekend on Hulu. Critics may not have loved it, but we do.
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‘Great Expectations’ Modernizes a Classic Story
Many of Dickens’ stories have a timeless quality, but they also firmly belong to the Victorian era in which they were written. Cuarón and screenwriter Mitch Glazer opted to move the story of Great Expectations into the present, and that was ultimately the best choice for this movie. Victorian romances have their place, but Great Expectations greatly benefited from the update.
The irony is that 23 years later, it’s no longer as contemporary as it was during its initial release. Yet it’s still easier to settle in for a story set during the ’90s than it is for a tale set over a century ago.
Ethan Hawke Gives an Engaging Performance
Ethan Hawke leads the cast of this film as Finnegan “Finn” Bell, a young man who was largely raised in poverty. Hawke has become an even better performer in the two decades since this film came out, but he’s really good in this role as well. The story revolves around Finn and his largely unrequited love for Estella (Gwyneth Paltrow), a woman he’s known for most of his life.
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There’s an inherent tragedy about Finn’s feelings for Estella, in part because the audience sees him heading for heartbreak before he does. Finn’s told himself a story that lets him believe he can eventually win Estella’s heart, and then his hopes are cruelly dashed. Estella isn’t blameless and she does lead Finn on, but it only makes us sympathize more for him.
The Rest of the Cast Is Impressive
Paltrow is good in her role, but the real standout supporting turn in this movie is Robert De Niro as the escaped criminal Arthur Lustig. The early part of this movie, when Arthur befriends young Finn (Jeremy James Kissner), is incredibly compelling. De Niro sometimes seems like he’s phoning it in or riding on his own coattails, but he wasn’t here. He infuses Arthur with a great deal of humanity, especially when he reenters Finn’s life decades later.
Screen legend Anne Bancroft also has a great turn as the heartless Nora Dinsmoor. If Dickens’ novel has a villain, it’s her. Dinsmoor isn’t evil in a conventional sense — she’s just manipulative, and her influence on her niece, Estella, goes a long way towards explaining why she keeps breaking Finn’s heart.
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‘Great Expectations’ Has Some Great ’90s Music
A film’s soundtrack doesn’t always land as an attraction unto itself, but Great Expectations had just about a perfect lineup of artists for the ’90s. Tori Amos composed and performed an original song, “Siren,” for the film, and the record also featured The Verve Pipe, Pulp, Reef and Mono.
There were a few outliers among the soundtrack’s lineup, including classic rockers Iggy Pop and the Grateful Dead. Yet somehow, it all came together in an unforgettable way. The soundtrack is a big reason why I’ve never forgotten this film, and it’s why I’ll be revisiting Great Expectations throughout November.
Great Expectations is now streaming on Hulu.
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