54. The Personal History Of David Copperfield; movie review

PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
Cert PG
119 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild violence, threat, brief bloody images

"I really enjoyed that", enthused Mrs W as we exited screen five of Solihull Cineworld.
Yep, on the way home from a weekend break with friends in Bristol we called in to the Touchwood centre for a double whammy of The Personal History Of David Copperfield and Queen & Slim.
Armando Iannucci's Death Of Stalin hadn't really been my bag so I worried that his take on the Dickens' character may be a tad too clever for its own good.
I was wrong. I didn't laugh as much as Mrs W but I thought it was sparky, original and made splendid points about diversity simply by its cast selection.
Indeed, I applaud its makers for being colour blind - having a brown baby born to a white mother, black daughter of a Chinese-looking chap and on and on.
This was a watershed at the movies - the moment it became clear that character, not colour matters.
The clearest representation of this is personified by the ever-excellent Dev Patel who was born in London of Indian parents. Neither is it or should it be strange that he plays the thoroughly English David Copperfield with great vigour.
There are shortcuts and liberties taken with the original Dickens text but the much-loved characters are all brought to life by a fabulous cast.
These include Tilda Swinton as a tough but lovable Betsy Trotwood and Hugh Laurie as her Charles I-obsessed cousin alongside Peter Capaldi as Mr Micawber, Ben Whishaw as Uriah and Paul Whitehouse at Mr Peggotty.
Less well-known but equally impressive are Rosalind Eleazar as Agnes, Morfydd Clark as Dora and Daisy May Cooper as Peggotty and Benedict Wong as the drunken Mr Wickfield.
The film follows David from his birth to his widowed mother (also Morfydd Clark) to being sent away to the Peggottys in their upturned boat at Yarmouth and then to a bottling factory while lodging with the Micawbers and on to seeking solace at his Aunt Betsy's in Dover.
This is before he becomes an adult when the tumult of his childhood continues at rollercoaster pace.
The Personal History of David Copperfield looks great - much concentration is given to the detail of costume and set - has great dialogue and, while there is more than a dab of pathos, is as entertaining as a fine family film should be.

Reasons to watch: Lots of family fun
Reasons to avoid: maybe a tad too clever at times

Laughs: Three for me - six for Mrs W
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Originally published in serial form from May 1849 through November 1850, David Copperfield is the first of Charles Dickens's novels written entirely in the first person. Converting his autobiographical impulse into fiction allowed Dickens to explore uncomfortable truths about his life.

The final word. Dev Patel: "What Armando has done with the casting and the world, he has given it a buoyancy and an accessibility to kids like myself. It really is representative of a modern Britain – the one that I grew up in. And it’s about humility, it’s about friendship, it’s about togetherness and accepting where you have come from and embracing that too." Irish News

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