Second viewing (first one: August 30, 1994).
When the head of a family dies leaving them in financial straits, they ask for the help of a rich relative. However, he is an egotistical scoundrel who aims to take advantage of their bad situation. Nicholas, the young son, is sent to work at a school for boys, but soon he finds out that education is the least of its owner's concerns. He runs away with one of the interns, who was badly mistreated in there. Meanwhile, Nicholas' mother and sister are supposedly taken care of by their rich relative.
I had to moderate my admiration for this film, in view of certain problems with the plot. It starts out well engough, and has some well-defined characters. The depiction of exploitations of several kinds is quite powerful and shocking. On the other hand, said plot relies for its progression on angelical benefactors who appear suddenly out of nowhere and are romantically inclined to boot. Also, a certain action by the main villain unacceptably contradicts some basic tenets of human psychology regarding fatherhood; also, his motivation for it is all but incomprehensible. All that being said, the film is superbly directed and acted, and it may be said that it captures very much the essence of Dickens; too bad that this essence is a little problematic.
Rating: 66 (down from 82)
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