A Dickensian Overview

A Dickens of A Time!

By Kristin Battestella

My sister the English Teacher and I are always discussing classic books and their various film adaptations and their use in the classroom.  I may love Charles Dickens, but she does not.  So then, for all those forced to read or teach the Victorian master, here’s a quick list of favorable, family friendly adaptations.

A Christmas Carol – Of course, I’d have to include at least one version of this timeless holiday classic, so why not all?  That would be a fun marathon to occupy the endless week between Christmas and New Year’s Day indeed! Modern youths may not appreciate the 1951 Alastair Sim version, nor perhaps the recent 2004 Kesley Grammar A Christmas Carol: The Musical is not for everyone.  So, unless you’re about to show Mickey’s Christmas Carol to the pups or the new Barbie in a Christmas Carol (There’s a scholarly study for ya!), that leaves the fine 1984 television tale starring George C. Scott- now on blu-ray- or the worthy 1999 Patrick Stewart TNT edition. Then again, you could always just read the book. 

Great Expectations – This Masterpiece Theatre presentation starring Ioan Gruffudd (Horatio Hornblower) and Bernard Hill (The Lord of the Rings) captures the spirit of what I must say is my favorite Dickens book.  Hill is menacing as Magwitch, but has his care for Pip.  Likewise, Charlotte Rampling (The Verdict, Swimming Pool) as Miss Havisham is delightfully demented and Justine Waddell (Wives and Daughters) is the wonderfully cruel girl of Pip’s affection, Estelle. Director Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane, Brideshead Revisited) handles the progression from the bitter childhood circumstances to mature romance swiftly, and Gruffudd looks the Victorian part in this delightfully dressed production.  Perhaps this is a story that can’t be made wrong, but this installment is dang fine film, too.

Martin Chuzzlewit – So much attention is given to his more famous material, but this 1994 BBC serial pulls off another Dickensian tale of Victorian finances, scruples, and hypocrisy. The late Paul Scofield (A Man for All Seasons, Quiz Show), Tom Wilkinson (The Full Monty, Michael Clayton), Pete Postlethwaite (Sharpe, The Usual Suspects) and Julia Sawahla (Absolutely Fabulous) are a wonderfully period troop of rich and poor on both sides of the pond trying to connect the dots on who is closest to wealthy old Chuzzlewit’s prosperity.  Who doesn’t have money-grubbing relatives like this? (If you had to stop and think about it and decided that you don’t have any money grubbing relatives, then it’s you!) It’s a little slow to start the tale, and the American angles are ho-hum and stereotypical; but in some ways, it’s amazing how little our perception of class and money has changed since Dickens’ time.  Once again, Boz strikes gold with some perfectly named Pecksniff and Pinch characters- if only we were so aptly or ironically named in this currently growing gap of excess and belt tightening. That would be very interesting!

Nicholas Nickleby – This 2002 adaptation from writer/director Douglas McGrath (Emma, Bullets Over Broadway) hails an all-star cast along with all the charm of Dickens’ source material.  The music, wonderful locations, and lovely performances from Christopher Plummer (The Sound of Music), Nathan Lane (The Birdcage), Juliet Stevenson (Mona Lisa Smile), and Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) combine with this timeless story of fortunes, family, and loss in a delightfully authentic English atmosphere.  The idealistic Dickensian style, however, does not let us forget the semi-autobiographical analysis of the poor and disenfranchised lost in the corrupt system.  Indeed, in light of recent economic downturns, Nicholas Nickleby might again be too relevant for comfort.  Read the book again or spend the evening with this bittersweet fair.  Thankfully, the proper DVD set includes a wealth of behind the scenes features for the Dickensian fan or the scholarly classroom.  Although its length is condensed by necessity, I’m surprised this movie didn’t find more acclaim upon its release.

Oliver! – This is the award laden 1968 musical that brought ‘Please sure, I’d like some more.’ to the masses.  Even if you consider today that the retrospective stage musical style and design isn’t what it used to be or if you remember how frustrating it was to stay awake while watching this in your Music Appreciation class in high school; this sing-a-long-able fair is still fun for the musical loving family.  Stars Ron Moody (A Kid in King Arthur’s Court), Mark Lester (Melody), Jack Wild (Pufnstuf), and Oliver Reed (The Three Musketeers) look the Dickensian part and sing and dance with plenty of joy, sadness, tenderness, and timeless charm.  Despite the somewhat depressing and socially heavy-handed source material, director Carol Reed (The Third Man) and writers Lionel Bart (From Russia with Love) and Vernon Harris (Three Men in a Boat) latently keep the sentiment and lessons in the simplest, youthful, innocent manner.  Skip the cartoons and introduce the little ones to Dickens here. 

Our Mutual Friend ­– This lengthy 1998 BBC adaptation of Boz’s final novel is not for the Dickensian layman.  Director Julian Farino’s (Entourage) complex, ensemble piece starring Keeley Hawes (MI-5), Paul McGann (Hornblower), Steven Mackintosh (Underworld: Evolution), and Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies) deals deeply with wealth, poverty, and the fact that who you know means everything in getting anywhere.  The English high society is colorful and lofty, shiny and satin; but the impoverished lows look the proper down and dirty underbelly.  Who wouldn’t disown their family and sell their marital status for money and prestige after such crippling workhouses and despair?  Unfortunately, there are no subtitles on this set, which would have been a great help just to see everyone’s names.  The ensemble is quite large, but everyone has his or her purpose and all concludes in perfect Dickensian coincidence, justice, and irony.  Amen.

Sometimes in our modern world of texting and internet slang, I’m afraid the English language will further divide- scarily to the point where Dickens won’t just be a bother to some students, but truly unreadable!  We can’t allow the wealth of literary thesis and education from Dickens to fade away.  So long as we aren’t forced to grow up on the dreadfully obvious and trying too hard Hard Times (ugh!), I’m all for Dickens remaining in the classroom through great books and fine film.

Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four Not So Fantastic
By Kristin Battestella

I heard the 2005 flop Fantastic Four was, well, a flop before it came to video. $30 is a steep price for a DVD, but I do love Ioan Gruffudd from his Hornblower days, so when Fantastic Four finally came on TV, I settled in with popcorn.

Comic fans are of course familiar with the storyline. Scientists Reed Richards (Gruffudd), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), and Sue’s brother Johnny (Chris Evans) are transformed by a radiation storm. Mr. Stretch, the Invisible Girl, The Thing, and The Human Torch struggle with their newfound powers and potential fame. Reed and Sue also debate rekindling their old romance, but rich and powerful Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) vies for Sue’s affections. Also transformed by the radiation, Victor becomes the evil Doctor Doom.

With a big name talented cast, I wanted to see things in Fantastic Four that weren’t there. The friendly bickering between the four is done well, but Michael Chiklis- of The Shield fame- has precious little to do as The Thing. Early on we see his fiancée turn on him, and Ben’s subsequent struggle with the creature he has become is resolved far too quickly. I’ve only read a few of the Fantastic Four comics, but I seem to recall it taking Ben far longer than 2 hours to get over his predicament.

Likewise, Reed and Sue get together far too easily. Ioan Gruffudd isn’t a big name, but he was perfectly cast as the Four’s stretchable and brainy leader. Unfortunately, he has far too little scenes, and most of them are quite hokey-just like Ioan’s last attempts to breakout- 102 Dalmatians and King Arthur. Now that he’s had a dose of blockbuster deadbeats, maybe Gruffudd will return to his award winning period pieces and historical epics.

Drooling male fans of Jessica Alba will of course think she can do no wrong. Also a Fox alum like Chiklis and McMahon with her short lived Dark Angel series, Alba has no chance to use her action moves here. She’s dumbed down by Sue’s power- the invisibility and force fields are linked to how emotional she gets. When Sue blushes or gets red with anger, she becomes invisible. Created in 1961 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four’s science has not held up well, and it is tough to picture Alba as a space faring scientist in the near future.

I know nothing of Chris Evans, but he plays the hot head Johnny Storm to a T. He looks familiar, but probably because he’s cut of the same young Hollywood mold as every other good looking guy under 25. The humor between Johnny and Ben is one of the strengths in the comic and the movie here, but a few times its played for juvenile laughs rather than the emotion. Of course, Evans was in Not Another Teen Movie, so maybe I expect too much.

Perhaps the most famous player in Fantastic Four is Julian McMahon. The Nip/Tuck star also looks hokey in the unworthy material he is given. I was also confused by several of his scenes. Where is his evil lair if his company is lost? How does he have Reed’s headquarters bugged? Did he steal Reed’s machine to restore Ben or did he create his own? Maybe these are little things that can be cleared up with repeated viewings, but in such critical plot points, there should be no room for error.

Director Tim Story has plenty of talent to work with. With equal caliber actors he’s hit with Barbershop and missed with Taxi. The road in bringing Fantastic Four to the screen has been quite an ordeal. From three different directors, casting changes and a script ten years in the making- the version that made it to the screen is not the best it could have been.

With the popularity of X-Men and Spiderman, Fantastic Four definitely has an audience of serious comic book fans. Story, however, goes for kiddie dialogue and dumb contrivances. Most of the film highlights the trouble and questions raised by the Four’s altered DNA and then rushes into an action ending with Doctor Doom. Neither storyline is given the scope it deserves. Despite having plenty of comic book material to draw from, Fantastic Four doesn’t focus on social backlash, peer pressure, or any other human elements that make Fox’s other comics turned films great.

Lack of a serious, emotionally driven story might acceptable if Fantastic Four gave action where action is do. As wishy washy as the plot is, the action is equally ho-hum. The two bigger sequences of the film take place on the streets of New York-complete with car crashes and gawking on lookers. Wow, we’ve never seen that before.

The Special effects are fine as effects go. The opening sequence involving the radioactive comet and spaceship are impressive, but Fantastic Four again does nothing groundbreaking or fantastic visually. Mr. Stretch’s bendables could not have been done without computer imagery, nor the Human Torch. Still, I would probably trade the CGI in for Gumby style effects if it meant I got a little more tragedy from The Thing.

Naturally Fox is milking this franchise for all it’s worth, so look for Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer in theaters. I’d like it to be serious, but with a title like that, I doubt it. It’s okay for these Fantastic Four films to be fun, light hearted, and juvenile. The PG-13 rating and silly humor is perfect for tweens, but the studio executives behind Four can’t expect to make as much money as they’d like if they continue to back a dumbed down franchise.

Fantastic Four isn’t necessarily bad, it just isn’t what it could have been. Now that the Special Edition is out with treats for Silver Surfer, it might be worth picking up for its extended cut and restored deleted scenes. Guilty pleasure fans or cheesecake and beefcake lovers will eat it up, but comic related collectors should wait for the DVD price to come down considerably before taking the plunge.