Entertainment

10:49 AM CST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Oliver Twist

B+

Starring Ben Kingsley. Directed by Roman Polanski. PG-13 (disturbing images). 130 mins. $28.95.

FAGIN FOLLIES: Alec Guinness did it. So did George C. Scott, Richard Dreyfuss and Lon Chaney. Now Oscar-winning actor Ben Kingsley tackles the role of Fagin. Still, the long list of adaptations stretching back to 1909 begs the question: Why again?

THE ANSWER: Roman Polanski needed to tell this tale, even if it met less than enthusiastic audiences at its 2005 theatrical release. Like Oliver, Mr. Polanski was an orphan who struggled to survive – in his case when his parents were killed in the Holocaust. There's a kinship, too, with Charles Dickens who, while not orphaned, was left to fend for himself when his father was sent to debtor's prison.

ALL ABOUT OLIVER: Fagin, who teaches Oliver to pick pockets, is the choice role for a seasoned actor. But Mr. Polanski keeps the focus on Barney Clark's vulnerable Oliver. This is his journey. The story is seen through his eyes.

THE TWIST: In the end, Oliver thanks Fagin for his kindness. In some ways Fagin was better to the homeless boys than the "good" people who starved, beat and worked them to exhaustion.

BEST EXTRA: You can get a feeling for what this meant to Mr. Polanski in the first two sets of interviews, "Twist by Polanski" and "Kidding With Oliver Twist." He says he made it for his children. But it's clear he also made it for the child in himself.

BOTTOM LINE: Sad but memorable – a work from the heart of a master filmmaker.

Tom Maurstad