Great, Great Expectations

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations

          There are some stories worth more than one-retelling.  Charles Dicken's Great Expectations is such a tale.  In 2011, PBS aired a dark version featuring Douglas Booth as the plucky orphan Pip gifted by a mysterious benefactor and tortured by the ghostly jilted bride Miss Havisham (Gillian Anderson of The X Files).  The movie, like the story, was strange and mysterious, with just the right amount of spectral gloom and spooky atmosphere.
         Fans don't have to wait long for the next version, as Mike Newell, the director of Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire, is set to release his version in 2012.  Featuring the always wonderful Bellatrix Lestrange herself-Helena Bonham Carter-as the wicked Miss Havisham and Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) as Pip, the movie also features Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort!).  With stellar actors and a promising director, the film should do justice to the great and unique story of a boy given a mysterious gift and curse.  If you have yet to read or watch a version, rent the 2011 version, and look out for 2012's movie theater addition.  Watch the trailer for the 2012 version here,  it may just raise your expectations for it.