![]() There’s a bit of caricaturizing going on in some of the movie’s more satirical moments, but it’s all part of the Dickens storytelling style. Each frame of the film is so richly detailed that I felt absolutely absorbed into Dickens’ world. Polanski’s creative team has resurrected early 1800s England in all its grime and glory. The attention to detail doesn’t stop with the cast. The robbery turns sour, leading to more lies, desperation and murder. The situation begins to spiral out of control when the malicious William Sikes gets involved, deciding to use the young boy as a means to rob the house of the man who rescued Oliver. When a kindly old man of good standing in society takes the boy in, Oliver’s old friends are worried he’ll rat them out and decide to kidnap him back. ![]() The gang, Oliver discovers, makes their living picking pockets and intermingling with other members of London’s criminal element, a life Oliver isn’t interested in sharing. After escaping a calloused orphanage life Oliver flees to London where he is taken in by the kindly but quirky Fagin and his ragtag bunch of street rats. It’s a classic, popular Dickens tale that follows a well mannered, good natured young orphan boy in early 1800s England. ![]() If you’ve never read or heard the story of Oliver Twist, sit down right now and write a letter to your high school principal telling them you want your parent’s tax money back. If you enjoy a good story with colorful characters, rich environments, and interesting cinematography then this is your film. The final result isn’t the kind of movie that will appeal to die hard Michael Bay fans with fifteen minute attention spans. ![]() The plot keeps pretty much to the original novel and the characters are allowed to exist in their own right, brought to life by a very capable cast who are guided by an equally capable director. Rather than try to rework the story to make it “accessible” to modern audiences and thereby render it tasteless and unrecognizable, Polanski lets Dickens do the storytelling. Roman Polanski’s take on Oliver Twist is by no means box office blockbuster material. ![]()
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