Moll Flanders (1996 film)

Moll Flanders
Directed by	Pen Densham
Produced by	John Watson Richard B. Lewis Pen Densham
Written by	Pen Densham
Starring	Robin Wright Morgan Freeman Stockard Channing John Lynch Jeremy Brett (uncredited)
Music by	Mark Mancina
Cinematography	David Tattersall
Editing by	James R. Symons Neil Travis
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	June 14, 1996
Running time	123 min.
Language	English
Budget	US$6,000,000 (estimated)

Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Defoe.

Plot summary

A young girl is picked up from a London orphanage and is told the story of her mother's (Moll Flanders) life on the way to the British West Indies.

Cast

• Robin Wright as Moll Flanders
• Morgan Freeman as Hibble
• Stockard Channing as Mrs Allworthy
• John Lynch as Jonathan (the Artist)
• Brenda Fricker as Mrs Mazzawatti
• Geraldine James as Edna
• Aisling Corcoran as Flora
• Jeremy Brett as Artist's Father
• Britta Smith as Artist's Mother
• Cathy Murphy as Polly
• Emma McIvor as Mary
• Maria Doyle Kennedy as Alice

Critical reaction

Based on reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Moll Flanders currently has a 47% approval rating from critics.^[1] A problem many critics had was with the movie largely throwing out the original Defoe story and structuring it like Forrest Gump (in which Wright was prominently featured). While the original book was about a woman's struggle to survive a male dominated era (the early 18th century) and her turning to illegal actions to make it through (stealing, prostitution among other means), the movie dealt with Moll's working on herself and improving her life. ^[2]

Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars and said of the film "it's an original; Densham took only the name, the period, and a few notions from Defoe, and has made up the rest."^[3]

Awards

The International Press Academy nominated Moll Flanders for four awards: Robin Wright for Best Actress in a Drama, John Lynch for Supporting Actor in a drama, Stockard Channing for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama, and a nomination for Costume Design.

Notes and references

1. ^ Moll Flanders (1996) at Rotten Tomatoes
2. ^ New York Times review
3. ^ Roger Ebert's review in the Chicago Sun-Times

External links

• Moll Flanders at the Internet Movie Database
• Moll Flanders at AllRovi