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Armando Iannucci has revitalised a Dickens classic with ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’ says our movie guy, James Finnegan…
LET me say this right at the start. This is David Copperfield, but not necessarily as you know it.
It is delivered by director and co-writer Armando Iannucci with loving respect, but with a refreshing reinvention showing the best of the twists and turns of the novel.
It is a sensual delight, with vibrant colours, a wonderful soundtrack by Christopher Willis and shows off some absolutely surreal moments that Terry Gilliam and the late Terry Jones of Monty Python fame would be proud.
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Using the “hero of my own story” as the theme, we open with Copperfield on stage, and the story continually surprises you with an almost stage method with painted backdrops, projections and visual storytelling – he even witnesses his own birth.
‘The Personal History Of David Copperfield’.
When you are being so inventive visually, you need solid performances to ground the story, and this film is impeccably cast.
Copperfield appears at various ages, sometimes in the same scene, so congratulations to Ranveer Jaiswal, Jairaj Varsani and most especially Dev Patel, who is building a very impressive portfolio of roles.
His nursemaid Peggotty is colourfully brought to life by Daisy May Cooper, and Darren Boyd and Gwendoline Christie are thoroughly nasty as the Murdstone siblings.
Along with Patel, there are powerhouse performances from Ben Whishaw as quite the creepiest Uriah Heep I believe I have ever seen, Betsy Trotwood played by Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie bringing back to mind his wonderfully vacant Bertie Wooster rather than House MD, and not least Peter Capaldi and Bronagh Gallagher as the eternally optimistic Micawbers.
Capaldi is such a talented performer he can convey a wider range emotions by the raising of an eyebrow than most can in a one man show.
You cannot help but wonder what he might do with a role like Fagin, if he has not yet finished with his Dickens.
Other notable players are Benedict Wong as the permanently tipsy Mr Wickfield, Rosalind Eleazar as his daughter Agnes, and Copperfield’s true love, and Nikki Amuka-Bird who is a formidable Mrs Steerforth.
You will have noticed that there is diversity to the casting which brings us additional layers of intrigue, interpretation and relevance to this familiar story.
This is perhaps the freshest look of all the adaptations of this novel in many years, bringing back to the fore Dickens fear of a return to his family’s personal experience of poverty.
This is one of those “Marmite” films that you will either love or hate. I loved its emotion, style and casting. It is not a typical BBC Sunday evening adaptation, but there have been plenty of those.
This is a 2020 version that speaks to a multicultural audience using quotes from the novel not as touchstones for an exam but almost as characters in their own right.
It takes great talent to revitalise a traditional classic, so kudos to Iannucci, fellow writer Simon Blackwell and all involved for a very special treat. Enjoy!
