By Kasey Schiedeck | Images property of TriStar Pictures
Oliver Twist
It must be disconcerting working under the pressure
and scrutiny as a critic's darling-even if you are a fugitive. Since his
near arrest more than twenty years ago, director Roman Polanski has hidden
away in Paris with his younger wife and children, surfacing only to make
a film every few years, most of which are heralded as masterpieces like
2002's The Pianist, and some that are merely mediocre like Oliver
Twist.
Oliver Twise Movie Review
For those unfamiliar with Charles Dickens's classis
tale, Oliver Twist is about the misery of poor class fellows ameliorated
in small ways by the unsuspecting kindness of a few. The novel follows little
Oliver Twist (newcomer Barney Clarke), an orphaned waif, who resides in
a 19th Century English workhouse. There he utters his famous "please sir,
I want some more" and is promptly expelled. After a brief stint with the
coffin making Sowerberry family, Oliver manages to escape to busy London
where he meets a team of pickpockets lead by the Artful Dodger who are eager
to introduce him to the craft. Fagin (Ben Kingsley) heads the loft where
the children are stowed away along with the menacing Bill Sikes (Jamie Foreman)
and tough but tender Nancy Sikes (Leanne Rowe). Feeling sorry for the precious
boy Mr. Brownlow (Edward Hardwicke) designates himself to care for Oliver
which allows for a brief week of bliss until Oliver is ushered back into
Fagin's world of grunge and crime.
Despite the solid foundation of a thorough script (screenwriter Ronald Harwood),
Oliver Twist lacks the depth and obscurity so evident in Polanski's earlier
work. Knowing that Polanski was himself a young orphan in Poland during
the second world war makes the impersonal nature of the movie that much
more apparent. Fresh off the heels of the excellent The Pianist,
on which Polanski first partnered with writer Harwood, I was expecting the
same gritty realism Polanski is best known for in films like Chinatown
and The Tenant. Instead the film plays like a bland TV movie adaptation,
or butchering, of the famous novel.
Oliver Twist
Polanski's choice to play the infamous Oliver,
Barney Clark, is adequate but a bit too loose with the tear ducts. In heavy
makeup and an ugly wig, Sir Ben Kingsley plays the detestable Fagin into
the ground in all his muck and repulsiveness. Foreman as Bill Sikes is anything
but menacing, making the film even more flat and bland. Perhaps the sole
outstanding performance is Rowe as Nancy Sikes. Her performance is fierce
and tender but not enough to substantiate the fate of this otherwise unexciting
adaptation.
One high note for Oliver Twist is the expert art direction and
design of 19th Century London that is beautifully depicted in all its grime
and filth. The film actually plays like a book from the fading page lines
in the opening scene to the pleasant conclusion but seems far too long in
some places and incredibly short in others. Although labeled a family film,
parents eager to find something entertaining for their young may want to
opt for something more amusing.
TriStar Pictures
Director: Roman Polanski
Screenplay: Ronald Harwood, based on the novel by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist: Barney Clark
Fagin: Ben Kingsley
Bill Sykes: Jamie Foreman
The Artful Dodger: Harry Eden
Nancy Sikes: Leanne Rowe as
Mr. Brownlow: Edward Hardwicke
Mr. Bumble: Jeremy Swift
Mr. Sowerberry: Michael Heath
Mrs. Sowerberry: Gillian Hanna
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist
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