The leading roles of Nicholas, Kate, and Smike are performed with great empathy, wonderful naturalness, admirable restraint, and endearing conviction by their respective actors James D'Arcy, Sophia Myles, and Lee Ingleby. Charles Dance as Ralph Nickleby portrays an icily Dickensian villain, and Gregor Fisher an indeed despicable head of a school. Superb photography conveys the changing moods and varied scenes excellently. The smooth connectedness of the film easily allows the viewer to enter into and remain as an observer of the action. Scenes of merriment, tender affection, and gripping terror add up to a truly powerful dramatization on film.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
(2001 TV Movie)
A profoundly engrossing and affecting movie of the novel.
14 June 2004