Given that her type is something like "crazy Victorian witch woman," it's amazing how many roles Helena Bonham Carter turns out to be perfect for. She's the perfect Bellatrix LeStrange in Harry Potter, the perfect Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, the perfect Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, and now perfect as yet another character snagged from literature, Great Expectations' Miss Havisham. Deadline has posted the first images of Bonham Carter in the new adaptation of the Dickens novel, from former Harry Potter director Mike newell no less. Check them out below or in super high res at Deadline:
Yup, that's what Miss Havisham looks like all right. In case you somehow missed Great Expectations in 10th grade English, Miss Havisham is the spectral sort-of villain of the piece, a woman jilted on her wedding day who then adopts a young girl, Estella, and teaches her to break the hearts of men the way Miss Havisham's was broken. Estella's victim turns out to be the hero, Pip, who meets her as a child and loves her fruitlessly for years. Jeremy Irvine, star of the upcoming War Horse, plays Pip in this adaptation, and the cast is rounded out by a ton of other British talents, including Harry Potter alums Robbie Coltrone and Ralph Fiennes, plus Sally Hawkins, David Walliams and newcomers Holliday Grainger as Estella.
Lionsgate UK will be handling distribution on that side of the ocean, releasing it in fall of next year timed to Dickens's 200th birthday, but they're still looking for a distributor in the United States. Releasing pictures of Bonham Carter that look like that, no matter how terrifying, will probably help them set up a deal. Who doesn't want to see her swanning around a crumbling mansion looking like the jilted bride from hell?
