The Personal History Of David Copperfield
Dir. Armando Iannucci / Dur. 119 mins. / Country. UK/US
In A Nutshell:- It’s Dickens but it’s not your usual stuffy costume drama.
The Good:- So much to choose from on this one. The style and pacing is a refreshing change from the usual formal stuffiness that can be associated with a period piece like this - there are some nice narrative touches when it switches between his writing/remembrances of events and what happened. The casting is spot on with everyone here on top form and having the time of their lives from Tilda Swinton’s manic Betsey Trotwood to Hugh Laurie’s scatterbrained Mr Dick to Peter Capaldi’s put-upon but upbeat Micawber. It’s genuinely funny as well, something that I was apprehensive about going in; there’s always a concern whether the humour will translate to a modern audience but Iannucci and Simon Blackwell’s has a rhythm and lightness of touch that carry you through. As Copperfield himself, Dev Patel easily carries the show, managing to be both funny and affecting. It also zips along at a good pace - I genuinely didn't notice that two hours had passed and was quite surprised when I realised that it was coming to an end.
The Bad:- I honestly can't think of anything that I didn't enjoy about it - I’ve been racking my brains to try and come up with something here but I haven’t got anything.
The Verdict:- If I had to sum up the film in a single word, I’d use the word “joyful”. There’s something about it, the combination of script, direction and performance together with a pace and energy that give it a joyfulness that feels rare in cinema nowadays. In these times of constant bombardment with bad news, this just might be the right sort of escape (for a few hours at least).
The Venue / Intro / Q&A:- Hmm, maybe this part of the “Film Festival Reviews” template doesn’t really work anymore. At home, obviously, without a single member of the production telling me anything about the making afterwards. Rude.
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