Great Expectations (Film) - 2012

Mike Newell directed the 2012 adaption of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. It is the most popular depiction of the tale making £6.2 million in the box office (and probably the most widely known recent version). It also features many famous faces such as Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham and Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch as well as some younger faces like Jeremy Irvine as Pip and Holliday Grainger as Estella. In terms of makeup and costume design, this film is one of the most theatrical and the characters really come alive with brilliant actors and actresses.

When Miss Havisham first appears, she comes across as dazed, confused and fidgety. She has mad and wild curls with grey colours filtering through - much like a stereotypical depiction of a witch. The hairstyle is not typical of the era the book was written and has taken a more creative twist with big volume, dyed hair and frizzy curls. Helena's complexion is pale, eyebrows are bold and dark, rouged lips and has dark areas around her eyes. Her actual skin is clear and almost flawless which does not indicate any influence of her harsh surroundings affecting her. It appears she does also have some sort of mascara on along side her dark eyebrows which, again, is not in-keeping with the era. However, these aspects add to the creative and stylistic approach Newell produced.

Towards the end of the story, the makeup and hair team have subtly aged her (as the story progresses over around 10/15 years). She has noticeably darker bags under her eyes with darker eyeshadows on the lids to darker the eye area. Her lips are pale and dry and her skin looks dirtied and more sculpted with age and malnutrition. Miss Havisham's dramatic fire scene is the most graphic of the adaptions with her whole face being melted away and burnt. 

Overall, in terms of makeup and hair design this is not my favourite adaptation. Although the interpretation of Miss Havisham is inkeeping with the style of the movie, I do not feel it produces the right ora around the character. It feels, to me, as over the top and almost makes the role jokey and light-hearted. The aspect I liked was the subtle ageing and I will take ideas of this into my idea to help create an HD makeup look.