Mr. Pip

Mr. Pip
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Adamson
Produced by	Andrew Adamson Robin Scholes Leslie Urdang Dean Vanech
Written by	Andrew Adamson
Based on	Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
Starring	Hugh Laurie Xzannjah Healesville Joel Eka Darville Kerry Fox
Music by	Tim Finn Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography	John Toon
Edited by	Sim Evan-Jones
Production company	Olympus Pictures New Zealand Film Commission Daydream Productions NZ On Air Eyeworks Pictures
Distributed by	Focus Features Freestyle Releasing [1]
Release date	9 September 2012 (2012-09-09) (Toronto International Film Festival) 3 October 2013 (2013-10-03) (New Zealand) [2][3]
Running time	115 minutes
Country	Papua New Guinea Australia New Zealand
Language	English Tok Pisin
Box office	$1,714[4]

Mr. Pip is a 2012 New Zealand film, set in Papua New Guinea, based on Lloyd Jones' novel Mister Pip. Andrew Adamson wrote the film adaption, which he also directed.^[5] Hugh Laurie played Mr. Watts.^[6]

Plot

In 1989, as a war rages on in the province of Bougainville—then called North Solomons—in Papua New Guinea, Mr. Watts (Hugh Laurie), the only white man left on the island after a blockade, re-opens the local school. He begins reading the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which transfixes a young girl named Matilda (Xzannjah). She finds comfort in the story of a Victorian orphan, Pip (Eka Darville), when her own world is falling apart. The "Redskins", an army sent to destroy the local rebels, are getting closer. Matilda writes "Pip" in the sand. This simple act leads to terrible consequences when the Redskins suspect Pip to be a rebel leader and demand he be brought before them.

Cast

• Hugh Laurie as Tom Watts
• Xzannjah Matsi as Matilda Naimo
• Healesville Joel as Dolores Naimo
• Eka Darville as Pip
• Kerry Fox as June Watts
• Florence Korokoro as Grace Watts
• David Kaumara as the Redskins lead officer
• Kausibona Mel as Daniel
• Sam Simiha as Sam
• Marcellin Ampa'oi as Joseph Naimo

Production

Mr. Pip was filmed in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and in New Zealand: on 29 and 30 July 2011 it was filmed at Glendowie College, and at a flight training centre at Albert Street, Auckland; the historic precinct of Oamaru represented Dickens' London,^[7] Richard Pearse Airport at Timaru represented the Mount Isa Airport at Queensland,^[8] and Kingsland Railway Station in Auckland represented Gravesend Station in England.

Post production started in November–December 2011 at Park Road Post in Wellington, New Zealand, ready for release in 2012. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2012. The trailer was released in April 2013, and the film opened in cinemas on 3 October.^[9]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 44% of critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6 out of 10.^[10]

Dennis Harvey of Variety said that the film "Like fellow Kiwi Peter Jackson, Andrew Adamson has followed a run of large-scale fantasy entertainments (two "Shreks", two "Narnias") by adapting an inspirational-uplift literary novel". Harvey also wrote "This gimmicky story set during Papua New Guinea's civil war reaches for emotional effect in a fatally hamfisted fashion".

A writer on The New Zealand Herald gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying "it's a joy". The review also applauded Laurie portrayal stating "He enters the frame sad and distracted, but watching him come to life as he reads, is a treat." He ends his review calling the film "Smart and cinematically adventurous".

References

External links

• NZ On Screen - Mr Pip
• Mr. Pip on IMDb