Moll Flanders Movie Review 1996

Writer/director Densham takes only the title character and the 18th-century London setting from Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel in telling of spirited heroine Moll Flanders' (Wright) life. Orphaned Moll eventually finds herself working at the brothel of greedy, scheming Mrs. Allworthy (Channing). Her life as a prostitute leads her to drink and near suicide--despite the unwavering friendship of Hibble (Freeman), Allworthy's dignified servant--until she falls for an impoverished artist (Lynch) and briefly finds happiness. Wright's heartfelt performance holds everything together (with help from a talented supporting cast) but things get dreary.

Distribution

MGM Home Entertainment, 2500 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404-6061, Phone: (310)449-3000, Fax: (310)449-3100, URL: http://www.mgmhomevideo.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 120 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Historical Drama, Women, London, Oldest Profession, Books to Film: Daniel Defoe, Hard Knock Life, Adoption & Orphans, Art & Artists, Period Piece: 18th Century

Screenplay

Pen Densham

Cast

Robin Wright Penn, Morgan Freeman, Stockard Channing, John Lynch, Brenda Fricker, Aisling Corcoran, Geraldine James, Jim Sheridan, Jeremy Brett, Britta Smith, Ger Ryan

Cinematography

David Tattersall

Director

Pen Densham

Music

Mark Mancina

Producer

John Watson, Richard B. Lewis, Pen Densham, Morgan O'Sullivan, Spelling Films International, Trilogy Entertainment Group, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures