February
18
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THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD (PG)
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD (PG)
Run time: 119 MINS
Director: Armando Iannucci
Cast: Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Paul Whitehouse, Aneurin Barnard and Gwendoline Christie
Synopsis: From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted David Copperfield is surrounded by kindness, wickedness, poverty and wealth, as he meets an array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all. For the first time since 1969, Charles Dickens’ beloved book ‘David Copperfield’ has been adapted as a live-action movie, as per the book, narrated by David himself, who takes us on a guided tour through his remarkable life, from birth to childhood and beyond.\
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHG7FnBDY0Q
An avid Dickens fan, Armando Iannucci [the award-winning writer/director of The Thick of It (2005-2012), In the Loop (2009), Veep (2012-2019) and The Death of Stalin (2017)] adapts this Dickens classic – with frequent collaborator Simon Blackwell – employing his comedic mastery and vivid imagination to bring to life some of Dickens’ most cherished characters in The Personal History of David Copperfield. From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all.
The film stars Dev Patel in the title role alongside a wealth of British talent including Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Aneurin Barnard and Paul Whitehouse.
Vibrant and funny, Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel makes for a winning, endearing David, and the excellent supporting cast fills out a typically Dickensian troupe of eccentrics, dreamers and grotesques. Particular honours go to Tilda Swinton as David’s eccentric aunt Betsey Trotwood, Hugh Laurie as her companion Mr. Dick and Ben Whishaw as the unctuous Uriah Heep.
Dickens drew a lot of the material in the novel from his own life, interweaving a complex tapestry of fact and fiction, describing the book as his “favourite child”. Iannucci’s adaptation makes Dickens’ treatment of social issues – finance, poverty, debt, prison, child cruelty, mental illness – extremely relevant to today, pitched with a comic wit that is fresh and innovative.
The film is a joy to experience and an affectionate re-visit into the life of Mr. David Copperfield, thanks to Mr. Charles Dickens and Mr. Armando Iannucci.
Images courtesy of: LIONSGATE
