It was interesting to find a number of people thought this film was about the American illusionist of the same name. This may be a sign that although many may know of author Charles Dickens they are not so familiar with his actual books.
It has been a while since the last BBC adaptation of one of his classic tales, so it is probably timely to see this rather different interpretation for the big screen.
The totally colour blind casting seems odd at first, only because of the 19th century England setting, but as the story is played almost more as fantasy than history it really doesn’t matter that aristocratic black women have white children. As the title says, it is a personal history and in these times the effect is kind of nice.
The production design is sublime and the costumes gorgeous, giving the film a sumptuous look and feel.
Despite its fantastical elements, the film makes some pointed jabs, true to Dickens, about class, snobbery, wage theft and child labour. So there is a little social history included.
Dev Patel does a great job of portraying the ups and downs of David Copperfield, a man of many nicknames who finally claims his true identity when he makes his own place in the world.
A wonderful supporting cast includes a slew of well-known British faces, including Hugh Laurie, Peter Capaldi and Gwendoline Christie, with Tilda Swinton outstandingly funny as aunt Betsy Trotwood.
Many laugh-out-loud scenes relieve the Dickensian sentimentality. There are no magic tricks, but plenty of magical moments in a film that puts a visual focus on the power of words.
No comments:
Post a Comment