Dickens, and a Q&A with one of Britain's top writers

The 2012 film adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, directed by Mike Newell, with an adapted screenplay written by David Nicholls, writer of One Day and Starter For Ten was shown at Warwick Arts Centre this afternoon, preceded by a question and answer session with Nicholls himself. I went along to listen to one of the most sought-after writers around.

Nicholls- looks writer-ish, doesn't he? Courtesy of guardian.co.uk

I read Great Expectations when I was in Year 9, having been assigned it by my somewhat ambitious English teacher. The plot is one that every young boy prone to falling in love should familiarise themselves with: the 'haughty and capricious' Estella, perceiving herself to be above Pip's station, intent on breaking his heart, egged on by her vengeful (adopted) mother, Miss Havisham; encountering a fortune and the morals of accepting it; in many ways, it is the ultimate bildungsroman. I would add 'assisting a convict' to the life lessons, but I didn't find many of them in middle-class Worcestershire, unless you count my uneasiness of celebrating Marlon King's goals.

It was a difficult read for a thirteen-year-old. I'm not saying I didn't finish it, but let's just say that Miss Havisham's death took me aback somewhat when I saw it on stage. If anyone thinks that's a spoiler alert, then I feel over 150 years since publishing date is enough grace for a writer to reveal certain elements of the plot.

Anyway, I like Dickens. I like the devil-may-care attitude to his characters' names- this is the man, after all, who called a cruel schoolmaster 'Gradgrind'. (He makes the character of 'Jock Strapp' in Carry On Dick look positively subtle). I like the simplicity of the plots, and I like the misery that comes with seemingly every chapter. If that's a bleak outlook, then consider that eight-year-old me hated Enid Blyton's stories because they were 'too happy' and 'unrealistic'. I'm more at home with plague and rickets than I am with lashings of ginger beer.
I was sceptical about the event for two reasons. Firstly, I've got what I can only describe as 'Dickens fatigue'. 2012 being the two hundredth anniversary of his death (pass you by, did it, what with all the jubilee and sports, did it?), I religiously watched the BBC's documentaries and adaptations, safe in the knowledge that we probably would live a Dickens-free diet for the foreseeable future. And then I see a bus with a poster for more fucking Great Expectations. Only this time with Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham-Carter and Robbie Coltrane. With a cast like that, I begrudgingly admitted that it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

Secondly, I read One Day, Nicholls' most famous novel (or at least part of it), in the upcoming days to the event, and I wasn't overly enamoured. The staccato, oh-so-dry humour of Emma coupled with the raffish charm of raffish Dexter with all his... raffishness. It didn't do a lot for me.

Courtesy of flickeringmyth.com

But he was pleasantly charming, self-effacing for a writer, and an extremely successful one too. The Q&A took place prior to the screening, which wouldn't have been my preference, and most of the questioning was done by a Leamington-based writer. There were roughly sixty people in attendance, students, and the silver-haireds of Warwickshire, including a bloke who wheezed like he might expire on us at any moment. He spoke of the challenges of adopting the novel and remaining faithful to the text. He was reluctant about taking on the project due to the book's much-loved qualities- I neglected to tell him that I failed to finish it. He talked about the cinematic aspects of Great Expectations, (in the process answering the question that I had lined up); and also how Dickens is unfairly described as someone who creates two-dimensional characters. I apologise for the earlier Gradgrind quip, Mr Nicholls. He also said how he is in the process of adapting another Thomas Hardy novel (I gleaned that he meant Far From the Madding Crowd- one of my favourite novels), and his awareness at becoming restricted to 19th century novels.

I even asked a question myself, one of only four to be posed. It wasn't particularly grilling, something along the lines of 'I likes your work Mr David, but do you find it frustrating that Mr Charles has already writed the descriptive bits of the novel and you can't really be as creative, yes, you know?'

Like I said, it wasn't Watergate. But he answered it completely and engagedly, explaining how essentially anything you do is an adaptation of some sort, but yes, he wouldn't be adapting many more works as he liked the challenge of creating the next Miss Havisham. Good luck with that one.

The film itself? It won't change your opinion on Dickens particularly. A fresh adaptation, one that was bleak, but not dreary, and still conveyed the humour of the novel. Yep, Dickens could do funny too, perhaps the greatest revelation to come out of the film for those who absorb the loaded term 'Dickensian'. Ralph Fiennes apparently channelled the eel-man from The Mighty Boosh in his terrifying but ultimately unoriginal portrayal of Magwitch, and Helena Bonham-Carter was Helena Bonham-Carter, which is to say, she played a very convincing turn as Miss Havisham. I've seen three versions of Great Expectations now. One on stage, in Stratford, one on the BBC, and this one. And, sadly, each portrayal of Pip has been instantly forgettable. It's a hard role, probably the most multi-dimensional role in the novel, and as such impossible to do justice to in two hours, but maybe the next version will leave a lasting impression.

Just, you know, leave off the Dickens for a while, okay? Good.