Great Expectations . Tucson Weekly . 02-16-98

Great Expectations

DIRECTED BY: Alfonso Cuarón

REVIEWED: 02-16-98

If only Ethan Hawke could have been surgically removed from the universe, this film would have fallen just slightly short of excellence. As it is, it's still pretty decent. DeNiro has a cameo that shows he can still fill up the screen, and Gwyneth Paltrow is a surprisingly good actor for someone with no visible body fat. The real star of this film, though, is Director of Photography Emanuel Lubezki. In the last 20 years, cinematographers seem to have become universally technically competent, but they squander their skills on difficult-to-shoot explosions and special effects. Lubezki, on the other hand, uses his considerable talents in the service of this well-designed genre romance, and in the process produces one of the longest, and most complicated, unbroken tracking shots ever filmed: the camera follows artist Finnegan Bell (Hawke) through a revolving door, into a black tie party, around the room, weaving between guests, until he finds his beloved Estrella (Gwyneth Paltrow), who walks away from him, and, still without cutting, he chases her out the revolving doors, down the street, into a restaurant, where she is seated at the very back with her fiancee (Hank Azaria). Still without a cut (except perhaps a well-hidden one as Hawke walks past a column), Finnegan takes her hand, they dance, walk out of the restaurant, into the street, and the camera rises in a crane shot as they run down the sidewalk and out of the frame. Now if only Ethan Hawke could be convinced to give up acting, writing, and looking pouty.

--DiGiovanna

Full Length Reviews
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Great Expectations

Film Vault Suggested Links
Mad Love
The Whole Wide World
Playing by Heart

Rate this Film
If you don't want to vote on a film yet, and would like to know how others voted, leave the rating selection as "Vote Here" and then click the Cast Vote button.