ma-cortes ¨Moll Flanders¨ (1996) by Pen Densham boasts a very good cast as Robin Wright Penn , Stockard Channing , Brenda Fricker , John Lynch and special mention for Morgan Freeman playing a dignified servant . Colorful retelling based upon a famous and popular novel , setting in the 18th century , London town . A fun romp set from Daniel Defoe's 1722 book focusing a poor orphan girl who seeks wealthy life in England . Born in London's Newgate prison , at the beginning she becomes a house servant at a bourgeois home run by a decent mother (Brenda Fricker) with two daughters but she escapes , and after that , one time grown-up , Moll (Robin Wright Penn) embarks on a risked and unfortunate life , as she eventually finds herself working at the brothel of Mrs Allworthy (Stockard Channning) , there she loses her virginity . As Moll is a beautiful female chased around every bedchamber in a bustling brothel at London town . Soon after , she decides to make her own way and fortune as well as misfortunes ; being always supported by the unwavering friendship of Hibble (Morgan Freeman) . Moll Flanders (female derivative of Tom Jones) plots to get ahead through an advantageous series of romances . But her existence as a whore leads her to drink and near suicide , and things get dreary until she falls for an allegedly impoverished painter (John Lynch) and briefly finds illusion . Pretty good film , well played , compellingly made and adequately setting . A picture much after the style of ¨Tom Jones¨ and ¨Fanny Hill¨ with bag of incident and color . This period piece turns out to be the 5th on-screen adaptation of Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel , though it misses of the lip-smacking period relish spoiled with a slow and overlong narrative . Being slightly faith to Defoe novel in telling the fortunes and misfortunes of this lively hustler who eventually finds herself working at the brothel of greed and with a scheming landlady . Gorgeous costumes are appropriate to this 18th period . Nice acting from Robin Wright Penn as the wickedly seductive Moll , a spirited heroine who becomes a sensitive prostitute and who briefly finds happiness . Robin Wright holds everything together with help a talented supporting casting . Jon Lynch also gives a heartfelt acting as a crippled as well as enamored artist who finds inspiration on Moll' beauty . The secondary cast is frankly good , such as : Stockard Channing , Jim Sheridan , Maria Doyle Kennedy , Brenda Fricker , Geraldine James and Jeremy Brett's last film . It packs a colorful and glimmer cinematography by David Tattersall . Evocative and stirring soundtrack by Mark Mancina , adding classic music . The motion picture was professionally written and directed by Pen Densham . Other films based on the bawdy , rousing retelling from Daniel Defoe's novel are the followings : ¨ The amorous adventures of Moll Flanders¨ (1965) by Terence Young with Kim Novak , Richard Johnson , Lilli Palmer , Vittorio De Sica , George Sanders , Leo McKern . Furthermore , TV rendition (1976) ¨Moll Flanders¨ with Julia Foster , Kenneth Haigh , Barry Jackson and Ian Ogilvy . And TV Mini-series in four episodes ¨Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders" by David Attwood with Alex Kingstone , Daniel Craig , James Fleet , Diana Rigg , Tom Ward , Roger Ashton-Griffiths , Ronald Frazer , James Larkin and Christopher Fulford

drrap The plot of this film has nearly nothing whatsoever to do with Daniel Defoe's novel; in place of Defoe's brilliant and compelling heroine it substitutes bushels full of ersatz-18th century drivel, pretentious neo-Irish music, and annoying children. Nunneries in England? An unexplained Afro-British man sent on a mission to read a book to an annoying child across the sea? A charitable organization which adopts adult women only if they are virgins? I am certain that if one made a film of "A Christmas Carol" with no Scrooge, no Tiny Tim, and Bob Cratchit as an alcoholic schoolmaster with an illegitimate one-legged daughter living in Sweden, viewers would complain that the story had gone missing -- why not here? It's a shame, as Morgan Freeman gives a memorable performance even in a role which seems dislocated from history, novelistic and actual.

dougjn It's perfectly apparent reading though a number of these user comments that almost none of those reviewers have read the novel. I share with another reviewer the view that a movie need not necessarily stick closely to the text that originally inspired it, and sometimes with some novels almost cannot and remain coherent or at all tight. Some movies are better than the novels their based on and others although they stray quite far afield are comparably good.There was no necessity to junk the original here though, and what's much more important, the result is FAR, FAR less interesting than the original, even considering just the story itself and not so much language, etc.Though this is I think quite a good movie, with strong acting, it's also a thoroughly conventional story. OK it's still somewhat unusual (though hardly unique) for the feminist heroine to have done considerable time as a prostitute (calling her a whore is entirely within the sense of the novel but seems contrary to the ultimately squeaky clean feminist spirit of the movie) but she was after all an orphaned little girls escaping clerical rape and pedophilia in the movie version, had few options, and didn't know what she was getting into (that last does mirror the book). But otherwise it's a thoroughly conventional tale that hardly strains our sympathies for Moll or makes us wonder how she kept or ever rediscovered her heart and soul – as the book most certainly does do.You see my problem is that not only could a movie have closely followed the plot and events of the novel (chopping some side stories of course), but it would have been a FAR, FAR more interesting film if had. Defoe's (he also wrote Robinson Crusoe) famous subtitle may give you some flavor: "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders, &c. Who Was Born in Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety for Threescore Years, Besides her Childhood, was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife (Whereof Once to her Own Brother) Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon in Virginia, at Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent." The novel's Moll wasn't just a whore, but determined to become a damn good and successful one. She threw herself into her work unreservedly – unlike in the movie. She was an enthusiastic thief, with her own rationale and justification. She married five times, often with a gold diggers purpose. She ended up in colonial Virginia in its early days, when fortunes could and were being made by all kinds of clever people (though almost always by men), and made hers from a beginning there as an indentured servant (as a judicial punishment), that is, a quasi slave for a period of a few years.The Moll of the novel was a true female adventurer. Like most males who have been through and seen so much, and who had risen based on her cold calculations about people and by using people and their weaknesses, we wonder if she can ever really feel again, but she can and does, when she gets some security. The real Moll Flanders is a fascinating female figure, and to write so sympathetically (though not without some deprecating and ironic asides from time to time) was truly revolutionary in the early 18th century. History of literature aside, she remains a fascinating character – much more so than this movie's rather Disney feminist heroine, who never wants to do any of the bad things she does and stops doing them as soon as she possibly can, consistent with her love commitment, etc., etc.Interestingly when a movie was done of Tom Jones, who was in some ways a rather similar if a bit less sympathy challenging male character living in more or less the same time period, the movie stuck much more closely to the original story - and that film was done some thirty-five years earlier. Those two characters, Moll Flanders and Tom Jones were perhaps the two most notorious sexual rakes of the highly popular early English novel. Too bad the even more interesting female rake is so toned down for full or facile feminist hagiography purposes, I suppose – that is to say, for full enthusiastic acceptance by the widest possible contemporary female and other audience.I only hope someone will do a movie that is or could be entitled "The Real Moll Flanders".

jseigner What a travesty! I was expecting a remake of the charming 1965 version staring Kim Knovak. This mess bore no relationship to the novel which I enjoyed so much. Definitely not for Defoe fans. It is difficult enough to abridge such works as Moll Flanders and the recently released "Vanity Fair" so I'm prepared for some liberties to be taken but I think the fundamental themes and tone of the original work should be maintained. This is certainly not the case with this version. Incidentally, Robin Wright is a sad disappointment in the portrayal of one of the most interesting and like able characters of English Literature. She is far too wooden and not nearly attractive enough. Sorry Sean.