Mr. Pip

Overview

The only white man in a Bougainville village, 'Popeye' Watts (Hugh Laurie) is viewed with something like bemusement by the locals. An enigmatic, world-weary figure, he becomes central to the community when he takes on the role of sole teacher at the community's tiny school. Warming to his task, he promises to teach the children his favourite book, Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. So foreign is the story to their life that they are initially confused by the teacher's reference to Dickens and turn up to school expecting to meet him.

Soon, though, the class is falling under the spell of the evergreen novel, earning the ire of parents who feel the children should be learning from the Bible instead. One particularly bright student, Matilda (Xzannjah) becomes entranced by the story, starting to imagine herself into its scenes with a dashing 19th-century Pip. She bonds with her teacher over the work, coming to learn how the story's theme of reinvention has a particular resonance for the Englishman.

The idyllic surrounds and gentle rhythms of the town are thrown into turmoil when rebel forces start recruiting young boys as soldiers. The military also view the new developments at the school with hostile incomprehension, and Matilda's escapist fantasies take a dark turn when the rebels think the word 'Pip' she has written on the beach is a message to a freedom fighter and round the community up for interrogation.

An affecting meditation on the power of storytelling, Mr. Pip's secondary theme of the power vacuum that opened up after civil unrest ended the copper mining boom is painted with broad strokes at times. But this less satisfying strand of the story never overpowers the central storyline, which is anchored by a performance of great stillness from Laurie and sterling work from Xzannjah as the quietly intelligent Matilda.

Written and directed by Andrew Adamson (Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia), Mr. Pip is a satisfying adaptation of Lloyd Jones' Booker-nominated novel. The main challenge of the film version was always going to be finding a way to replicate Jones' precise, mellifluous prose, something achieved here largely through John Toon's stately cinematography. It's a sombre, thoughtful work likely to both please those familiar with the formidable source material as well as inspiring newcomers to read it.