Echoing the spirit of last year's "The Scarlet Letter," which was described as "freely adapted" from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, the new celluloid version of "Moll Flanders" is "based on the character from the novel by Daniel Defoe," according to the opening credits.
That is, presumably, to explain why the movie is so far adrift from the 18th-century novel that is its source material - this is an adaptation of the character, but not necessarily the story.
So, why not call it "Nell Floogle" and be done with it.
Thankfully, "Moll Flanders" isn't nearly as bad as Demi Moore's "Scarlet Letter" fiasco, but it's also a far cry from Merchant-Ivory territory ("A Room With a View," "Howards End," "The Remains of the Day") or even the recent "Jane Eyre."
Granted, "Moll Flanders" is a grittier story, but as with those pictures the emphasis is on a woman at odds with 18th-century English class distinction. In this case, Moll (Robin Wright) is intelligent and independent but frustrated by her inability to climb up from the lowly station of her birth.
The episodic film begins as a servant named Hibble (Morgan Freeman) tracks down a young girl, Flora (Aisling Corcoran), in a filthy English orphanage. Flora is the daughter of Moll Flanders, Hibble explains - and his mistress, one Mrs. Allworthy, desires to be her benefactor.
Hibble has the girl cleaned up, and together they begin their journey to America. Along the way, Hibble reads aloud to the youngster from Moll's personal diaries, which relate her life story, shown in lengthy flashbacks.
"A murderer, whore and thief by her own account," Moll is born in jail, and shortly after giving birth to her, her mother is hanged for stealing.
Raised in a convent, Moll, as a teenager, defends herself from the advances of a sexually aggressive priest and is branded a rebel. So, when she runs away to the streets of London, the nuns aren't all that sorry to see her go.
She is taken in by a kindly older woman (Brenda Fricker), whose daughters mistreat Moll (in "Cinderella"-ugly stepsister fashion), and she later becomes a courtesan-in-training under the tutelage of the flamboyant Mrs. Allworthy (wide-eyed Stockard Channing).
Later still, she moves in with a bohemian artist (John Lynch) and becomes his model.
Throughout these vignettes, Moll suffers indignities and tragedies of every sort, as Hibble becomes her only real friend - and even he is hindered by his sense of duty to his cruel mistress.
Wright, who made her debut in the hit comedy-fantasy "The Princess Bride" and later played the object of Tom Hanks' affection in "Forrest Gump," is fine in the title role. And Freeman is excellent as the slave whose loyalties are divided.
But Channing is way over the top, delivering an unexpectedly cartoony interpretation of her malicious madame. And young Corcoran is inconsistent in displaying her character's snottiness.
Worse, the film is so plodding that even its more sensational elements seem dull.
Writer-director-producer Pen Densham ("The Kiss," screenwriter of Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") conjures up some nice atmosphere and sets up a few solid vignettes, but the dialogue is often ham-fisted ("A man's ethics are the only possession he'll take beyond the grave," Freeman is required to intone) and long, boring stretches will have audience-members lighting up their watches.
"Moll Flanders" was screened for critics a couple of months ago, before being rated, and it was a surprise to see the film land a PG-13. Considering the amount of sexual material, an R might have been more appropriate; there is also violence, nudity, drug abuse, a couple of profanities and some vulgarity.