Because the adult characters possess the power and make the decisions, it's particularly interesting to see what Polanski does with the key character in "Oliver Twist," who is Fagin Ben Kingsley , the grotesque old man who rules a household of pickpockets. Fagin is a Jew in the Dickens novel, an anti-Semitic caricature although to be sure the Christians in the novel are also named by religion and are seen for the most part as hypocrites, sadists and fools.
Polanski's version never identifies Fagin as Jewish and does not depict him as the usual evil exploiter of young boys. Exploiter, yes, but evil, no: It is likely, as Fagin observes, that he has saved his charges from far worse fates awaiting them in the cruel streets of London, and taught them the skills and cunning to survive. That is why the next-to-final scene of the movie is so intriguing. Oliver has been rescued by his benefactor, the kind bookseller Mr.
Brownlow Edward Hardwicke , and has become a young gentleman. Fagin has been condemned to death. Oliver asks to see Fagin, and Brownlow takes him to the old man's cell, where they find a pathetic, self-pitying ruin. In the novel, Oliver asks Fagin to pray with him, and says, "Oh! God forgive this wretched man! For so Fagin was, after his fashion.
It was Bill Sykes, the cruelest of all Dickens' villains, who meant him harm. In a movie that is generally faithful to Dickens, despite some smoothing out of the labyrinthine plot, Polanski's key change is to observe that Fagin does not simply exploit the boys; the old man and his pickpockets are struggling together to survive, according to the hard law that society has taught Fagin and he is teaching the boys. Fagin in his way is kinder than the workhouses and the courts of respectable society.
The line "You were kind to me" is not a sentimental addition intended to soften the ending, but proceeds, I believe, directly from Polanski's heart, and is a clue to why he wanted to make the movie. He must have met a Fagin or two, who were not good people yet not as bad as they might have been. In Dickens there is always the contrast between horror and comedy; his biographer Peter Ackroyd observes that the novelist sometimes referred to his plots as "streaked bacon," made of fat, meat and gristle.
There is the sunny benevolence of Mr. Brownlow, who trusts the accused pickpocket with money and books. The pure goodness of the old country woman Liz Smith who pities and dotes on the child. The heroism of Nancy Leanne Rowe , who risks her own life to save Oliver's.
And even the mixed feelings of the Dodger Harry Eden , who betrays Nancy to Bill and then has second thoughts and regrets. True evil in the film is seen in Bill Sykes, who comes to such a ghoulish and appropriate end, and also in the society which surrounds and permits all of the characters.
Dickens grew up in a world of workhouses for children, child prostitution, "charity" institutions run with cruelty and greed, schools that taught nothing and were run for profit, and people who preyed on children, starved and mistreated them, and praised themselves for their benevolence. Those who haven't read Dickens since school, or never, may confuse him with the kindly storyteller of popular image; his works are filled with such fury that he must create a Mr. Brownlow from time to time simply to return calm to the story.
Polanski's film is visually exact and detailed without being too picturesque. The performances are more vivid and edgy than we might suspect; Kingsley's Fagin is infinitely more complex than in the usual versions. Jamie Foreman's Bill Sykes has a piggish, merciless self-regard. Leanne Rowe, as Nancy, becomes not a device of the plot but a resourceful young woman whose devotion to Bill is outlasted by her essential goodness.
And Barney Clark , who was 11 when the film was made, is the right Oliver, a child more acted against than acting.
Oliver Twist was Dickens' first proper novel, after the episodic Pickwick Papers. Family Food Tube and other emerging channels could tempt more brands to look to the platform, David Benady writes.
As a generation of digital natives start their own families, they are turning to YouTube for parenting advice. And big brands are entering the fray. Jamie Oliver launched Family Food Tube last week, offering parents recipe ideas for feeding their children. But questions remain over how they make money.
Nelson says Family Food Tube will eschew brand deals initially as it looks to attract viewers. It will eventually become a cross-platform offer for brand partnerships across the website and mobile app. A tie-up between an automotive brand and the entire Oliver YouTube family will soon be announced, Nelson adds.
Should brands establish a channel, use it as a broadcast mechanism or strike deals with other channels? Some brands are willing to take the jump and others are wanting to wait," Nelson says.
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