Search - Oliver Twist (1997) on DVD

Oliver Twist - Opportunity Missed!

08/23/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This ultimately disappointing adaptation of the Dickens classic has very few things to recommend it to the general viewer.

Unimaginatively directed and poorly scripted, it lacks the pace or depth of previous adaptations. Disney have stripped the story to its bare bones and taken considerable artistic licence even with those. What results is a pedestrian amateurish effort entirely bereft of the humanity, complexity and grit of the original novel.

What makes the failure of this film even more remarkable is that, on paper at least, it would seem to have had an enormous potential. Boasting the names of Oscar Winner Richard Dreyfuss and the talented Elijah Wood among its cast and with the budgetary power of Disney behind it, `Oliver Twist' ought to have succeeded. The film was also shot entirely in Ireland at a location near to the spectacular Wicklow Mountains. Seemingly determined to make the worst of their resources the makers have allowed their `Oliver Twist' to be made, mainly, on a series of completely unconvincing indoor sets. Even the few outdoor scenes might just as well have been shot on a set due to the simplistic camera-work involved. The opening sequence in the hills pales into insignificance when compared to that of David Lean's brooding masterpiece and the scenes set in Industrial Revolution London are entirely lacking in realism.

As regards the cast, Alex Trench in the title role comes off poorly, being utterly unable to invoke the audience's sympathy with a performance that collapses under the burden of poor direction. Richard Dreyfuss's Fagin is probably the most disappointing. Surely, with his proven abilities, he should be able to rise above the limitations of a lacklustre script and considerably modified character. Yet he fails to do so and his overly genial Fagin lacks any degree of vivacity and is probably the most inexcusable failure of the whole film. One of the many liberties Disney has taken with the original is to considerably expand the role of the Artful Dodger; it is a decision that inadvertently rescues this version of `Oliver Twist' from total disaster. Remarkably the one member of the cast who manages to construct a character with any level of charisma and depth is Elijah Wood who was barely sixteen at the time of filming. His Dodger is a prime example of Wood's ability to inject life and emotional complexity into the most ordinary of roles. In Wood's hands the Dodger becomes an outwardly confident and thick-skinned but ultimately a very lonely, vulnerable and confused individual. He is the only character that manages to engage the audience's sympathy in this production and frankly every scene without Wood's Dodger is a scene wasted. That said, his accent slips woefully at several points-which is a pity because as evidenced by `The Lord of the Rings' he is eminently capable of pulling off a convincing English accent with the aid of a decent voice coach. The only other positive things about this film are the discerning use of its score, which succeeds in being quite evocative and a few scattered moments of gentle humour.

In short this if you are looking for an even-moderately interesting adaptation of this classic then look to Lean's black and white piece of genius-or even the musical version `Oliver!'. This 1997 Disney offering fails utterly through a combination of unimaginative direction, poor sets, an atrocious script and some lacklustre performances. Unless, as an aspiring director, you want to observe how NOT to make a good film then you would be justified in giving `Oliver Twist' a miss."