From rags to riches... and back again.
A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- CinemaSerfon TMDB · Mar 20225/10
I'm not Armando Iannucci's biggest fan so saw this at the Opening Gala of the London Film Festival with some trepidation. Unfortunately, I wasn't pleasantly surprised. Dev Patel does bring some charm to the proceedings, but the attempts at comedy in this retelling of Dickens' classic just don't work for me at all. Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton appear to be fish out of water and whilst it is good to see Hugh Laurie back on the big screen it all comes across as a bit of a hotch-potch of ideas and aspirations. The book's original questioning of Victorian values around child exploitation and of more general social attitudes seem to have been largely sidelined, robbing the story of much of it's heart and soul. It is also quite unnecessarily lengthy at just shy of two hours. As you'd expect, it is a good film to look at, featuring some very picturesque East Anglian villages that probably haven't changed anything like as much as this story from the days of Charles Dickens himself.
Read the whole review on TMDB - SWITCH.on TMDB · Jul 20208/10
This has really been a banner year for the period film. We've had Gerwig's spectacular 'Little Women', Autumn de Wilde's wondrous adaptation of 'Emma.', and on television, the bombastic imagination of 'The Great'. Armando Iannucci's 'The Personal History of David Copperfield', even with its flaws, sits beautifully beside them. This film left me giddy with joy, my eyes filled with tears, leaping from my seat with every rapturous surprise and unexpected burst of imagination. It brims over with humanity, humour and heart, and reminds us of the importance of these things for a rich and satisfying life. This is an absolute gem of a film, and one of my favourite of this year so far. - Daniel Lammin Read Daniel's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-personal-history-of-david-copperfield-a-rhapsodic-delight-on-taking-ownership-of-our-own-stories
Read the whole review on TMDB - Manuel São Bentoon TMDB · Jun 20208/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Based on Charles Dickens' novel, The Personal History of David Copperfield is the first Armando Ianucci's film I ever watched. I didn't really know much about this movie besides its stellar cast. I'm not the biggest fan of biographical works. Usually, I find them too constricted to the genre's formulas, and if I don't think the protagonist's life is remotely entertaining, then the whole film crumbles. Fortunately, it's not the case of this Ianucci's adaptation. It's one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, I finished it with a massive smile on my face. David Copperfield's life is portrayed in such a captivating, entertaining, genuine, heartfelt manner, but always maintaining this sort of lightness. There's always something positive coming out of even the worst of situations. Actually, I think that's the best message transmitted to the viewer: it doesn't matter how horrible your life might be at a particular moment, it will only get better if you don't give up, and if you surround yourself with true friends and family. Throughout the runtime, David shares his life with different f
Read the whole review on TMDB
Cast
- Dev PatelDavid Copperfield
- Peter CapaldiMr. Micawber
- Ben WhishawUriah Heep
- Tilda SwintonBetsey Trotwood
- Gwendoline ChristieJane Murdstone
- Hugh LaurieMr. Dick
- Anthony WelshHam
- Aneurin BarnardSteerforth
- Divian LadwaDr. Chillip
- Rosalind EleazarAgnes
Crew
- Armando IannucciDirector
- Simon BlackwellScreenplay
- Armando IannucciScreenplay
- Charles DickensNovel
- Zac NicholsonDirector of Photography
- Christopher WillisOriginal Music Composer
- Peter LambertEditor
- Mick AudsleyEditor
- Armando IannucciProducer
- Kevin LoaderProducer
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Pairings
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