I love Charles Dickens and I really wanted to like this movie. After all, there are plenty of things to like. Ben Kingsley is awesome as Fagin, Bill Sykes is threatening without overplaying it, Harry Eden is a great Artful Dodger and the story has its touching moments.
But in order for Oliver Twist to be great, you need a great Oliver Twist. I'm sure Barney Clark is a very nice young man. He's definitely trying to make the best out of it, and he definitely has potential as an actor. But his portrayal of Oliver doesn't cut it for me. He is just way too depressing. He spends about the first hour of the movie crying, begging and/or fainting. We don't get to know his motivations, his desires or his goals. He's just there to take a boatload of misery, but I just don't care what happens to him. Character development comes from within, and this just wasn't the case for Oliver.
I like the 1968 musical a lot better, because Mark Lester plays a much more endearing and pro- active Oliver. To me, this version seemed more like "Diary of a wimpy kid" (literally). I know this 2005-version is a lot of people's favorite, but I found it too melodramatic and over-the-top depressing. Too bad, because the potential was there.
But in order for Oliver Twist to be great, you need a great Oliver Twist. I'm sure Barney Clark is a very nice young man. He's definitely trying to make the best out of it, and he definitely has potential as an actor. But his portrayal of Oliver doesn't cut it for me. He is just way too depressing. He spends about the first hour of the movie crying, begging and/or fainting. We don't get to know his motivations, his desires or his goals. He's just there to take a boatload of misery, but I just don't care what happens to him. Character development comes from within, and this just wasn't the case for Oliver.
I like the 1968 musical a lot better, because Mark Lester plays a much more endearing and pro- active Oliver. To me, this version seemed more like "Diary of a wimpy kid" (literally). I know this 2005-version is a lot of people's favorite, but I found it too melodramatic and over-the-top depressing. Too bad, because the potential was there.