I am so very glad that I have a copy of Roman Polanski’s version of Oliver Twist at home on my sdhc card. I was extremely surprised however, to find that the film had not received entirely positive reviews. I found that most peculiar as I could find not a flaw in the film. One positive review was by A. O. Scott of the New York Times who said: “The look of the movie…is consistent with its interpretation of Dickens’s worldview, which could be plenty grim but which never succumbed to despair. There is just enough light, enough grace, enough beauty, to penetrate the gloom and suggest the possibility of redemption”.

On the other hand, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said of Polanski’s version of Oliver Twist that is was “drab and unfeeling” and “lacking the Polanski stamp”. Travers said of Barney Clark’s performance as Oliver, that it was “bereft of personality”. Sadly, Todd McCarthy of Variety also found Barney Clark’s performance “disappointingly wan and unengaging”.


