Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Douglas McGrath

Writers (WGA):

Charles Dickens (novel)
Douglas McGrath (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 May 2003 (New Zealand)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Every family needs a hero.

Plot:

A young compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

Plot Keywords:

Father | Uncle | Sister | Boys School | Mother

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Stella Gonet	...	Mrs. Nickleby
Andrew Havill	...	Mr. Nickleby
Henry McGrath	...	Child Nicholas Nickleby
Hugh Mitchell	...	Boy Nicholas Nickleby
Poppy Rogers	...	Child Kate Nickleby
Jessie Lou Roberts	...	Young Kate Nickleby
Charlie Hunnam	...	Nicholas Nickleby
Romola Garai	...	Kate Nickleby
Tom Courtenay	...	Newman Noggs
Christopher Plummer	...	Ralph Nickleby
Anne Hathaway	...	Madeline Bray
Jim Broadbent	...	Mr. Wackford Squeers
Angela Curran	...	Parent
Jamie Bell	...	Smike
Juliet Stevenson	...	Mrs. Squeers

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic material involving some violent action and a childbirth scene.

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:LH | USA:PG (certificate #39321) | Ireland:PG | France:U | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:MG6 | New Zealand:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:PG | Italy:T | Argentina:Atp | Chile:14 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Churchill College, Cambridge University, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK

Company:

Hart-Sharp Entertainment

Trivia:

Miranda Richardson was set to play Mrs Squeers, but she declined so she could concentrate on three much more demanding roles in Spider (2002).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Nicholas leaves Madeleine's apartment for the first time, it appears to be in the basement. When he rushes to save her from marrying Mulberry Hawk, he runs up many flights of steps to get to the apartment.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Vincent Crummles: What happens when the light first pierces the dark dampness in which we have waited? We are slapped and cut loose. If we are lucky, someone is there to catch us and persuade us that we are safe. But are we safe? What happens if, too early, we lose a parent? That party on whom we rely for only everything? Why, we are cut loose again and we wonder, even dread whose hands will catch us now? There once lived a man named Nicholas Nickleby...

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Nicholas Nickleby': The Cast on the Cast (2003) (V)

Victoriana

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens is a rather complicated novel. To even try to put a dent on the narrative is a task for someone very ambitious indeed. The film treatment directed and written by Douglas McGrath tries to condense it. In many ways he has succeded.

The story of how Nicholas avenge his dead father and in the process finds love and happiness is told with great assurance from the director and his notable players, some of the most brilliant figures in the English stage and films.

Christopher Plummer as the evil uncle, Ralph Nickleby, is excellent. This is an actor's actor. He plays this villain with relish and a panache not easily found in many other actors. Jim Broadbent appears as the lunatic Wackford Squeers in another star turn. Another performance that is subtle, yet very effective is by Tom Courtenay, as Newman Noggs, who at the end helps Nicholas get to the truth. Juliet Stevenson plays Mrs. Squeers with the right amount of bitchiness and evil. How about Nathan Lane?. He is outstanding again, as is Barry Humphreys, playing his wife.

The only problem are the younger roles. Charlie Hunnan is a likeable performer, but out of his league in this company. The role of Smike, a key figure in the novel, is handled with the clumsiness the role requires by Jamie Bell. Anne Hathaway as Madeline Bray, and Ramola Garai as Kate, are adequate.

All in all this makes a pleasant occasion, if somehow tamed, at the movies.