African-American aristocrat Hibble takes a warrant of custody towards a young girl who is being physically mistreated at an orphanage by abusive nuns. Afterwards, Hibble reluctantly begins to tell her the story about her mother. The woman who will become the girl's mother is a poor teenager named Moll Flanders. Once the daughter of a thief, Moll's mother was hanged while Moll was at a young age. Moll is placed into a church but rebels after a priest sexually assaults her leading to the former stabbing him with knitting needles only to be whipped as a result. Moll finds the courage to escape despite being arrested and is eventually taken in by Mrs Allworthy, the owner of a local brothel. Life as a prostitute takes it toll on her and, even though she befriends Hibbie, she faces mistreatment from the headmistress of the brothel. A kind artist named Jonathan requests her time modelling for him and takes care of her when, one night, she is brutally beaten by an angry, religious group. Moll eventually falls in love with Jonathan and becomes pregnant. For a while, their life seems happy. Then, one day, Jonathan falls mortally ill and dies. Devastated by the loss, Moll later gives birth to a little girl. She encounters Allworthy once more, leading to her being forced along on a sea journey with Allworthy and Hibble, and leaving her baby behind. That night, a storm forces the ship into a frenzy. Moll begins to fight for control against Allworthy with the latter being swept away by the raging current. Hibble is horrified as Moll herself is carried away by the storm. After finishing his story, Hibble proclaims that Moll was lost at sea. Disillusioned, the girl blames Hibble for not saving her and almost runs away until Moll shows up, alive and well, having survived the storm and reconciles with her daughter.
Based on 23 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, Moll Flanders currently has a 43% approval rating from critics. A problem many critics had was with the movie largely throwing out the original Defoe story and structuring it like Forrest Gump. While the original book was about a woman's struggle to survive a male-dominated era and her turning to illegal actions to make it through, the movie dealt with Moll's working on herself and improving her life. Roger Ebert gave the movie three stars and said of the film "it's an original; Densham took only the name, the period, and a few notions from Defoe, and has made up the rest."
