Written over 150 years ago, Charles Dickens’ timeless classic Great Expectations is as resonant today as it was when it first appeared in Dickens’ own journal All the Year Round in December 1860.

Nicholls’ adaptation encompasses the myriad human emotions that propel the characters forward

The story was then published in novel form in 1861, going into its fourth edition within weeks of its first printing. Even though the critics were far from enamoured by it at the time, the novel remains one of Dickens’ best loved.

Whether studied at school or read as a child, it is a book many profess returning to time and time again; while its deep narrative and richly-drawn characters have been fodder for modern-day writers and directors, with numerous adaptations enriching both big and small screens.

In this latest adaptation, the complex story of Pip, the young orphan at the centre of the tale and the many individuals who strongly influence his life – including the beautiful and enigmatic Estella, the violent convict Magwitch and the eccentric Miss Havisham – is brought to the screen by director Mike Newell.

Newell has assembled a formidable cast including Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham, Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch, Holliday Grainger as Estella and Jeremy Irvine, who made his debut in War Horse, as Pip.

Nicholls’ adaptation encompasses the myriad human emotions that propel the characters forward: the darkness that encompasses Miss Havisham; Pip’s misguided ambitions and the extraordinary romance between Pip and Estella.

“I hope this version will be affecting and that it will have high emotion and drama and melancholy as well, at times,” stresses Nicholls.

Director Mike Newell says it was Nicholls’ writing that attracted him to the project. “What I loved most was that David Nicholls did one very ballsy thing, which was to tell the story from different points of view, not just Pip’s.”

Newell is excited by the love fostered between Pip and Estella. “... we get a chance to ask: What does a young man feel about a young woman who he is absolutely head over heels in not only love but lust as well? And that side of the story is very rarely told.”