Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I saw this DVD on sale in a Target store, so I took a chance on it. Luckily, I hadn't read the reviews here or I would have given it a pass. This production of Dickens' famous novel is the least faithful of all the versions I have seen, but I expected that going in. It's basically a stylistic rewrite of the story with a modern audience in mind. Had I been a Dickens purist looking for a mirror image of the book, I would have been appalled, as some reviewers here obviously were.
Instead, it's a fresh take on an old story. It doesn't pretend to be faithful. The result for me is that I was highly entertained, and as someone else has pointed out, instead of looking for how many deviations I could find, I was enthralled by the fact that I did NOT know what was coming next. This in effect freed me from the book, which I have read several times (yes, I like Dickens), and allowed me to judge this fresh approach on its own merits.
I was quite satisfied with the story as it stood on its own two feet, although the original story is much better. But that was a book (a newspaper serial, actually), not a 173 minute television mini-series. Were I to produce a faithful mini-series of Oliver Twist I would require at least ten hour-long segments. It's a very complicated yarn. (I'd love to film the chapter where Oliver is recuperating in the country.)
The cast is excellent for the most part. William Miller (Pieter in "Krakatoa") was an inspired choice for what he was intended to do: portray an appealing yet fearless version of Oliver--a boy who has been subjected to the dreary trials of a workhouse upbringing, yet because of his character has come through it all as a soft spoken, kindly little soul. Adam Arnold as Dodger presents a new "twist" on the character, who is shown as being quite sensitive and vulnerable, and in love with Nancy (who throws him over for Oliver). Bill Sykes is played by Tom Hardy, and while he looks fine in the part, his accent is so extreme I could only understand ever tenth word. He also suffers in my eyes because he's no Robert Newton. That holds true with every other actor who has played Sykes. Similarly, Timothy Spall is no Alec Guiness. I had a hard time swallowing his Fagin, but again this is a rewrite of the story and he does an adequate job with the writer's reconstruction of the character. Mr. Brownlow is played by the ubiquitous Edward? Fox (is he William, James or Edward? I wish he'd make up his mind).
If it sounds like I'm having fun with this review, it's probably because I had fun watching this DVD. The extra on the disk is a "making-of" documentary. I enjoyed meeting Will Miller, Sophie Okonedo (Nancy), and others. However, when you listen to the writer, Sarah Phelps, you begin to get an insight into why this Oliver Twist is so different from all the others. She strikes me as an angry, over-the-top liberal who has strong opinions on Dickens and other societal matters. She rubbed me the wrong way, but at the same time I did like very much what she produced. So there you have it in a nutshell.
The music didn't bother me one little bit. In fact, its spirited tone fit the revised character of Oliver very well, and I felt it was perfect for this particular production. William Miller is a handsome, lovable boy, and I was very pleased to see Oliver Twist as an engaging, sturdy and athletic youngster for once instead of the meek, frail waif we have always seen, a character who we are to pity. It's a fresh outlook. The rest of the cast, the authentic costuming and backgrounds, yes and even the heavily rewritten story, support this new twist on Oliver Twist very well.
It's a good movie. Don't miss it. Take the sour apple reviews with a grain of salt.
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This gripping tale of Charles Dickens's classic remains faithful to the spirit of the novel while delivering a modern, thrilling, tragic and occasionally comic edge. Oliver is born into poverty and misfortune - the son of an unmarried mother, who dies shortly after his birth. He is soon delivered to the workhouse, where the cruel Mr. Bumble oversees children tormented by starvation and suffering. When Oliver dares to ask for more gruel, he finds himself cast out and forced to make his own way in the world. Running away to London, Oliver meets the Artful Dodger and his gang, as well as the beautiful Nancy, and gets the first warm welcome of his life - but he is soon to discover that this kindness requires its own type of payment. As Oliver is drawn deeper into the dark and murky underworld, he remains unaware that the kind Mr. Brownlow is searching for him, while others - the brutal criminal Bill Sykes, the manipulative Fagin and the mysterious Mr. Monks - are vying to ruin and destroy his life.
