Moll Flanders

Moll Flanders follows a young woman born in Newgate prison to a mother whose execution is delayed long enough for her to give birth. Raised by nuns after her mother's death, Moll rebels against the harsh treatment she receives and flees to the streets of London as a teenager. Struggling to survive, she reluctantly takes work in what turns out to be a brothel run by the scheming Mrs. Allworthy. There she meets Hibble, a servant who takes an unusual interest in her welfare and whose friendship offers her a measure of hope. Moll later falls for an artist who holds out the prospect of genuine happiness.

The film is based on Daniel Defoe's 1722 novel and is set in early eighteenth-century England. Pen Densham wrote and directed it, and his screenplay frames Moll's story through Hibble, who recounts her life to her daughter Flora. Robin Wright plays Moll, with Morgan Freeman as Hibble, Stockard Channing as Mrs. Allworthy and John Lynch as the artist Fielding. The supporting cast includes Brenda Fricker and Geraldine James among 24 credited performers.

Released in June 1996 and running just over two hours, the film earned about 3 million dollars worldwide, a modest return against its production backing from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Trilogy Entertainment Group and Spelling Films. Audiences rate it 6.4 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 4,700 votes, and 6.1 out of 10 on TMDB from a smaller sample. A critics' rating of 5.6 out of 10 from 23 reviews places it slightly below the IMDb audience figure.