Great Expectations Film 2012

Great Expectations 2012

Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham

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Helena’s skin is very pale as the character of Miss Havisham has been inside for many years and therefore her skin has not changed colour due to being exposed to sunlight. Her skin has cool tones which reflect her cold hearted nature towards the world and especially towards Pip. This is emphasised further with the lack of colour used on her checks, she is no longer the blushing bride that she wanted to be on her wedding day. Instead dark grey contouring is used which makes her face look shallow, tight and ridged. The overall look of the skin looks a bit like porcelain and makes her look like a porcelain doll. This reflects Miss Havisham’s persona of being harsh and almost heart less as if she is a doll without emotion and not a real person. Also Miss Havisham has hidden herself away from the outside world and is only seen by the few people she chooses to see her. This is a bit like when an old doll is hidden away in a cupboard only rarely brought into view, just sat collecting dust, a reminder of a happy time in childhood, it captures the memories of a part of our lives when we were happy. This is similar to the way Miss Havisham has kept everything the same from her wedding day which was supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life. Also like a doll she seems incapable of doing many things for herself and therefore gets others to do things for her for example she gets Estella to fetch things for her as she acts as if it is difficult for her to move or carry out the tasks herself. This shows Miss Havisham’s controlling nature as she can control Estella to do whatever she orders her to do.

The eye make-up is dark and this contrasts with the white in her eyes which along with Helena’s acting makes the eyes look a bit wild and possessive which reflects how Miss Havisham is very controlling and possessive over people. The eye make-up looks smudged like it has been worn for a long time like when someone doesn’t take their make –up off before going to sleep as if Miss Havisham has worn the make-up since her wedding day. The eye shadow is the darkest part of the make-up and also contrasts with the pale skin so therefore brings attention to the eyes which Helena uses to great effect in her acting to create the unique character of Mss Havisham. The strongly defined eyebrows further draw attention to the eye area of her face and their precise shape adds a slight harshness to her face which reflects Miss Havisham’s character. The lips are also dark and like the rest of the make-up any warm colour seems to have faded from them over time and so only dark, cold colours remain like Miss Havisham became cold hearted towards people especially men since her wedding day. It appears that any good emotions such as happiness and compassion have faded from her over time and the use of a mainly achromatic colour scheme reflects this.

Miss Havisham’s hair has a lot of curls and volume in it like many bridal hairstyles. However many of the curls have become loose with some hanging down around Miss Havisham’s face and the texture has become slightly frizzy. This shows that Miss Havisham is no longer the bride she hoped to be but is still trying to hold onto how she was on her wedding day. The wild texture of the hair reflects the wildness and sometimes unpredictability of Miss Havisham’s personality and like her hair has changed since her wedding day so has her character. The colour of her hair has also become tinted with grey since her wedding day and looks dusty and old which shows how much time has passed since the wedding day. The decorations in Miss Havisham’s hair are very intricate and look like typical bridal accessories. One of the accessories is blue which fits in with the traditional saying of “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” The blue hair accessory is seen later on in the film in Estella’s hair which may have been done to show how Miss Havisham has trained Estella to be like her and now part of Estella is like Miss Havisham. The veil is extravagant yet it is completely see through which it may not have been had it been in real life however this is needed in the film to show Helena’s acting off as much as possible. The veil is sometimes down over her face and sometimes pulled back depending on how Miss Havisham is during the story. If the character is being very guarded it is down yet if she is trying to gain someone’s trust or affect how someone feels for example Pip then the veil is taken away from her face.

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In this part of the film Estella's hair is in an Apollo knot which was very popular in the late Edwardian and early Victorian era. The Apollo knot is usually when the hair has a strong centre parting and curls which go into a bun or knot shape at the back of the head. Her hair is very sleek and neat which contrasts to Miss Havisham’s hair being unruly and frizzy. This could show how Estella is still trying to live in the present and so she does her hair everyday whereas Miss Havisham is still living in the past and hasn’t changed her hair since her wedding day. Estella’s hair also has accessories in it which match her outfit and this was very popular in Victorian times.

The clothes she wears are colourful and have flamboyant touches such as ruffles and decorations which show she is upper class or comes from a wealthy background. The blue colour, the shape of the ruffles around her neck, the intricate jewellery, pale skin and red curled hair remind me of Queen Elizabeth’s style and make Estella look almost royal or noble. The style of Pips outfit in this image is also very reminiscent of the upper classes and the colours of blue and black were associated with the upper classes as they were expensive. This shows how Pip is now of a similar social standing to Estella and so in his mind he may feel more worthy of being with her, as when he was younger he did not feel as if he was enough of a gentlemen to be with her.

 Estella’s make-up is very subtle and is made to look as though she isn’t wearing any. This makes her look youthful and innocent as in those times a young lady of Estella’s age should be seen in this way. However from the way Estella acts its clear there is more depth to her character than is shown on her exterior and this gives a mysterious air about her. Estella’s skin make-up is very pale and has cool tones in it making her look as though she lacks warmth which reflects parts of her character for example not being able to love. She has subtle contouring on for cheeks to give definition to her cheek bone with some colour on her lips and around her eyes to make them stand out slightly on camera.