First Look: Jeremy Irvine as Pip in Mike Newell's 'Great Expectations'

November 11, 2011
Source: Empire
by Ethan Anderton

Just last week we got or first look at Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham with a couple of haunting photos from the forthcoming adaptation of Charles Dicken's classic novel Great Expectations from director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile). Now we have our first look at Jeremy Irvine (who will certainly break out in War Horse next month) as the main character of an orphan named Pip in a story that spans 30 years of his life as he encounters a peculiar cast of characters like an escaped convict named Magwitch (Ralph Fiennes) and a reclusive woman named Miss Havisham.

Here's the photo of Jeremy Irvine as Pip in Great Expectations courtesy of Empire:

This new adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel Great Expectations comes from director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile) working from a script by Rowan Joffe (The American). The story sees the orphaned Pip (Jeremy Irvine) given a fortune by a mysterious benefactor, who he suspects is the eccentric Miss Havisham (Helena Bonham Carter). But he's less concerned with who's behind the gift, administered by lawyer Jaggers (Robbie Coltrane) and more concerned with wooing Miss Havisham's man-eating ward Estella (Holliday Grainger). No release date has been set.

First Showing

Helena Bonham Carter As Miss Havisham In 'Great Expectations' Film (PHOTOS)

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First Posted: 11/4/11 03:38 PM ET Updated: 11/4/11 03:38 PM ET

 

Charles Dickens , Helena Bonham Carter , Book Adaptations , Great Expectation Photos , Great Expectations , Great Expectations Film , Great Expectations Movie , Miss-Havisham , Books News

 

The sweetheart (or miscreant, depending on the flick) of period piece films, Helena Bonham Carter is making a silver-haired return to the silver screen as Miss Havisham in an adaptation of Charles Dickens's "Great Expectations." Previously starring as a deranged witch in the "Harry Potter" series, a faithful matriarch in "The King's Speech," and a cold-hearted Queen of Hearts in “Alice in Wonderland,” the actress seems a perfect fit for the wry, manipulative, wild-haired villain. Eerie and opulent, Havisham has nothing but her father’s inheritance and her bitterness from being left at the altar to keep her company. She adopts a child, Estella, seemingly for the sole purpose of teaching her to break the hearts of men, including the novel’s protagonist, Pip. The first photos of Bonham Carter in the role were released today, and sure enough, her wide eyes and silky, rag-doll wedding gown epitomize Dickens's spinster, who, thirty some years after her break-up, still refuses to change clothes. "In a sense, she's a feast for the eyes," says Elizabeth Karlsen, the producer of the BBC Films and Number 9 Films movie, set to release in 2012. Directed by Mike Newell, the film began shooting last month. The lead role of Pip will be played by newcomer Jeremy Irvine, who is also starring is Steven Spielberg's film, "War Horse" later this year.