Arts

Film: Oliver Twist

I read Oliver Twist when I was thirteen. It was the compulsory item for a book project given by the worst teacher I ever had. (He was a bully with a reputation to uphold. He cared little for teaching English, preferring to rant on about whatever took his fancy each lesson. I imagine he'd have fitted in perfectly at a public school. But that's a topic for another time.) Consequently any opinion I have about Oliver has been informed by an incredibly negative experience.

I didn't much enjoy this adaptation. The whole cast played up the stereotypes to the point where I couldn't feel empathy for any of them. The film was well shot but really let down by the acting.

Or was it just let down by the baggage we all bring to it? I was amazed about how much of the plot I'd forgotten. Oliver's about wanting food and picking pockets. There I go again, influenced by the horribly twee musical version.

The reviews were bad, my previous experience with the material was low. Is it a coincidence that the photograph I took before the film started was of the floor?