Great Expectations is a 1998 American romantic drama film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, from a screenplay by Mitch Glazer and starring Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft, and Robert De Niro.

A contemporary film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1861 novel of the same name, it is known for having moved the setting of the original novel from 1812–1827 London to 1990s New York, with the hero's name having been changed from "Pip" to "Finn," the character of "Miss Havisham" having been renamed "Nora Dinsmoor" and "Abel Magwitch" being renamed "Arthur Lustig."

Ten-year-old Finnegan "Finn" Bell, an orphan being raised by his elder sister Maggie and her boyfriend Joe, is overpowered by an escaped convict while playing on a beach on the Gulf Coast.

Joe is called to do gardening at "Paradiso Perduto" ("Lost Paradise" in Italian), the mansion of the richest woman in Florida, Nora Dinsmoor, who has lived as a recluse since her fiancé left her at the altar years before.

Although Estella is at times flirtatious, even attempting to seduce Finn at one point, she leaves to study in Europe without telling him.

Seven years later, a lawyer tells Finn that a gallery owner in New York City wants to show his work.

Back at his studio, Finn finds a strange bearded man wanting to see him, which turns out to be Lustig.

Once the film was edited together, producer Art Linson felt voiceover was needed to maintain connective tissue in the hyperstylized world Cuaron had created.

Having previously worked with screenwriter David Mamet on The Edge and The Untouchables, Linson hired him to write the voiceovers.

[8] The name of Hawke's character was undecided for a while, with the original novel's Pip sounding unpalatable given this version's modern-day setting.

The soundtrack also includes songs by popular artists such as Pulp, Scott Weiland, Iggy Pop, Chris Cornell and The Verve Pipe.

The film's score was written by Scottish composer Patrick Doyle, a veteran of many literary adaptations and frequent collaborator of Kenneth Branagh, and featured classical guitarist John Williams.

The soundtrack also featured the breakthrough single "Life in Mono," which became a major hit, charting on the Billboard Hot 100.

The score track "Kissing in the Rain" was sampled in the song "RoboCop" on Kanye West's 2008 album, 808s & Heartbreak.