Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-heartedly grasping uncle.

Director:

Douglas McGrath

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Douglas McGrath (screenplay)

Stars:

Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Christopher Plummer

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Young Nicholas (Charlie Hunnam) and his family enjoy a comfortable life, until Nicholas' father (Andrew Havill) dies and the family is left penniless. Nicholas, his sister Kate (Romola Garai) and mother (Stella Gonet) venture to London to seek help from their Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer), but Ralph's only intentions are to separate the family and exploit them. Nicholas is sent to a school run by the cruel, abusive and horridly entertaining Mr. Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent). Eventually, Nicholas runs away with schoolmate Smike (Jamie Bell), and the two set off to reunite the Nickleby family.

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Plot Keywords:

uncle nephew relationship | based on novel | alliterative title | 1850s | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Every family needs a hero.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Lighthose Pictures [Singapore] MGM

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 June 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Nicholas Nickleby

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$42,864, 29 December 2002

Gross USA:

$1,587,173

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,651,462

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists Film Corporation, Hart Sharp Entertainment, Potboiler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several members of the cast appeared in the Harry Potter film franchise: David Bradley (Argus Filch), Timothy Spall (Wormtail), Jim Broadbent (Professor Horace Slughorn), and Hugh Mitchell (Colin Creevey).

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Goofs

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.

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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...

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Crazy Credits

Thanks to everyone at One Aldwych.

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Connections

References Romeo and Juliet (1968)

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Soundtracks

On Ilkla Moor Baht 'at
(uncredited)
Traditional Yorkshire folk song; sung to the Methodist hymnal tune "Cranbrook" (1805) (uncredited), written by 'Thomas Clark'
Performed by Kevin McKidd (uncredited), Helen Coker (uncredited), and Jim Broadbent (uncredited)
Sung by John Browdie and Tilda while on their honeymoon in a London public house, accompanied by Mr. Wackford Squeers

User Reviews

From Some1 Who Didn't Read the Book

This is a film adaptation, if you follow what others said, an altered plot even *based* on the book. If you wanted to see the book dramatized, then I guess you'll be disappointed. But I, however, wanted to see Alan Cumming, so I rented it. I don't care that it's supposed to be Dickens. I had to convince my husband to watch it because he hated the book. In fact, ours would not be described as Dickens house. We are not fans. We don't attend literary societies and haven't gone to university for literature. Neither are we fans. The closest we can come to liking Dickens is Blackadder's Christmas Carol.

What our perceptions are, will not be so elite as my fellow commenters here, but if you want a straight unbiased perspective on this film, do read on.

We found the acting inspirationally good. We would stop at times to comment to one another how excellent the acting is. Especially when Nicholas gets into a fury over his sister in Hawk's face. When he gets angry at the schoolmaster, Squeers, is equally good. The actors did a great job and the film was at once both charming and idyllistic and at other times, cruel and unforgiving. It definitely portraits a time long since past, a way of thinking, the gentry and the way society was at the time within a fictional story written by Charles Dickens. This is another version written by someone else. Regardless, it has its own merits. There are ALWAYS elitists around to hen scratch at any and all adaptations of classic works to film and usually it looks to me to be on principle alone if nothing else. The last comment said the acting was terrible, but really, it was fantastic, so I don't think they even watched beyond like 15 minutes of the film or whatever point they believed it deviated from the book. Let's face it, I haven't even read the book, but I know it would take many hours of time like the extended versions of the complete Lord of the Rings to capture it faithfully, in which case I wouldn't have finished watching it because it would be a) too damn long and b) far too boring because it'd be faithfully like Dickens. This version is shorter and appeals to me a lot more than the drivel shoved down my throat in the classroom at an age when I actually appreciated classic literature far more. And to reinforce this point, I don't remember a damn thing from that, because it was so boring.

So it is NOT the faithfully adapted verbatim snorefest it would have been. It is a very good film. I think only Dickens fans will moan about it. Otherwise, no one else would have a problem with it. Everyone's a critic. I don't usually post here, hardly ever post anywhere. But this is a great film and I came here to IMDb just to see who played Nicholas. Ladies will want to watch it just for his looks <.<