What do you get when you mix Charles Dickens with select members of the Harry Potter franchise cast and crew and Danny Elfman's theme from The Wolfman/the Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy trailers? Why, the first international trailer for the upcoming adaptation of Great Expectations, of course. Check out the preview below, courtesy of Pathe Films.
That's one hell of a cast lineup that director Mike Newell has managed to assemble. The Potter fans out there likely noticed Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), and Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) reuniting (Newell also directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), but the extended cast also includes Jason Flemyng, Ewen Bremner, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins and Jeremy Irvine. David Nicholls, who previously wrote the book and the subsequent adaptation of One Day, scripted the new adaptation of Dickens' classic novel. The book has been adapted many times before, most notably in 1998 modernized version made by Alfonso Cuarón (also a Harry Potter director) with Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Robert De Niro and many more.
The story follows a young orphan named Pip who has lived his entire life in misery with his abusive older sister. One day he is called upon by a wealthy shut-in named Miss Havisham (Bonham-Carter) to come to her home and play with her daughter, Estella. Though Estella treats Pip with utter disdain, he soon finds himself falling in love with the young beauty, which Miss Havisham encourages. Pip then gets an invitation from a mysterious benefactor to go to a finishing school where he can become a proper gentleman. But things are not as they appear to be and Pip soon finds himself at the center of a much bigger plan.
The film will be making its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month and is already set for release in the UK (November 30th) and Germany (December 6th), but it has not yet secured distribution in the United States.
