But despite Lean's best efforts, he does not entirely overcome the episodic quality of the narrative, in which characters disappear for long periods, often without explanation. It's a very effective decision, reflective of social attitudes at the time but also in keeping with the overall tone of Lean's story, where pain and hardship are suggested so strongly that candid depiction is unnecessary.Īs a visual piece of storytelling, Oliver Twist comes through with flying colours (or lack thereof). Much like Carol Reed's version from the 1960s, most of the violence in Lean's film is suggested, with the audience being asked to fill in the blanks from Nancy's screams, her limp hand and Robert Newton's facial expressions. The beating of Nancy is a deeply traumatic moment in the novel, with Dickens often struggling to get through it during his public readings. The film is also notable for its approach to violence. Sikes' room has curtains which selectively let light through after he has murdered Nancy, and the shadow that Nancy's hand casts on the floor is foreshadowed by the lone leaf on the tree in one of the opening shots. Shadows are a common device in horror and thrillers to indicate the darkness of a character or a threat that faces them, but Lean uses them slightly differently: rather than the darkness encroaching on the characters, he conceives of a world where the characters have painted themselves into a corner and shut the light out. The film also brilliantly utilises different ratios of darkness and light - or chiaroscuro, to use the artistic term. Through these images Lean paints a picture of a city founded on a desperate desire to escape, telling the story through architecture in a manner that would have made Fritz Lang proud. Even the slums, particularly on the scenes on the rooftop bridge, seem to lean and reach in vain towards the wealth and opulence of St. There is a recurring image in the film of hands reaching out towards something better: Oliver holding his bowl, the pickpockets looking for wallets, Nancy's lifeless hand after Sikes beats her, and so on. Lean uses this juxtaposition to convey with great subtlety the big ideas and images of the book. The poorer parts, however, look like one of Franz Kafka's nightmares, with the East End skyline made up of buildings which lean and reach in strange directions. The more affluent parts of London, such as Oliver's eventual home, are rendered naturalistically with fine period details such as chess boards, book cases and marble columns. The visuals of Oliver Twist are an intriguing mix of naturalism and expressionism. The very first shot, of Oliver's mother stumbling down the long desolate road, has the same cruel, intimidating atmosphere that characterised its predecessor. But more than that, the opening of Oliver Twist is a very conscious attempt on Lean's part to recapture that success. Ronald Neame returns as producer, having worked with Lean previously on Brief Encounter, as does cinematographer Guy Green following his Oscar win for Great Expectations. Having already enjoyed success with Great Expectations, it makes sense that Lean retained much of the same cast and crew for this adaptation. 65 years on, his version of Oliver Twist remains both interesting and impressive, particularly in its narrative and visual decisions. Carol Reed's Oscar-winning musical features in this happy few, as do several versions of A Christmas Carol, but perhaps no director has come closer to making Dickens cinematic than David Lean. This means that while there are many fine TV adaptations of Dickens (including the brilliant version of Bleak House from 2005), there are very few big-screen Dickens adaptations that can truly be considered cinematic. He paints a vivid introductory picture of a character, including the elaborately grotesque name, and then introduces other aspects in small episodes or bites of information until the story has run its course. Throughout his novels Dickens tells his stories like a journalist, having a great eye for human behaviour and social injustice. Having cut his teeth as a journalist and shorthand writer, he carried over this approach into his works of fiction, which was itself consolidated by their serialisation in newspapers. Charles Dickens as a storyteller is inherently episodic.
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