The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

Based on the novel by Charles Dickens.

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Simon Blackwell (screenplay by), Charles Dickens (novel)

Stars:

Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 6 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fisayo Akinade	...	Markham
Nikki Amuka-Bird	...	Mrs Steerforth
Albie Atkinson	...	Mealy Potatoes
Aneurin Barnard	...	Steerforth
Tuwaine Barrett	...	Refereree Boy
Nigel Betts	...	Creditor
Ruby Bentall	...	Janet
Darren Boyd	...	Edward Murdstone
Peter Capaldi	...	Mr. Micawber
Gwendoline Christie	...	Jane Murdstone
Morfydd Clark	...	Clara Copperfield / Dora Spenlow
Daisy May Cooper	...	Peggotty
Matthew Cottle	...	Mr. Spenlow
Faisal Dacosta	...	Mick Walker
Glen Davies	...	Coalman

Storyline

THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD re-imagines Charles Dickens' classic ode to grit and perseverance through the comedic lens of its award-winning filmmakers- giving the Dickensian tale new life for a cosmopolitan age with a diverse ensemble cast of stage and screen actors from across the world. Emmy® winners and Oscar® nominees Armando Iannucci (IN THE LOOP, THE DEATH OF STALIN, HBO'S "Veep") and Simon Blackwell (IN THE LOOP, HBO'S "Succession") lend their wry, yet heart-filled storytelling style to revisiting Dickens' iconic hero on his quirky journey from impoverished orphan to burgeoning writer in Victorian England.

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Plot Keywords:

period film | nineteenth century | london england | book adaptation | 1800s | 

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Taglines:

From rags to riches... and back again

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material and brief violence.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 May 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Filming Locations:

King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$15,600,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,473,250

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film 4, FilmNation Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds, in Suffolk, England, features in the movie. Charles Dickens once stayed here and part of the book The Pickwick Papers is set there.

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Goofs

In Dickens' original novel, it is implied that Wilkins Micawber is slightly rotund, balding man. Quite the exact physical opposite of Peter Capaldi who plays him here, and much nearer to previous incarnations played by Bob Hoskins, Arthur Lowe and W.C. Fields. However as exact physical casting is not really adhered to in this film, it can be forgiven that the director also played loosely with his interpretation of this character (and asides from this, Capaldi's version of the character still portrays the blind optimism and shabby charm of Dickens character) .

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Quotes

Mr. Dick: A remarkable woman. Very kind.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits are supposed to be listed in alphabetical order, however, Paul Whitehouse is billed above Ben Whishaw whereas they should be the other way around.

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Connections

Referenced in CTV News at 11:30 Toronto: Episode dated 5 September 2019 (2019)

User Reviews

Disappointingly underwhelming...

I'm not Armando Iannucci's biggest fan so saw this at the Opening Gala of the London Film Festival with some trepidation. Unfortunately, I wasn't pleasantly surprised. Dev Patel does bring some charm to the proceedings, but the attempts at comedy in this retelling of Dickens' classic just don't work for me at all. Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton appear to be fish out of water and whilst it is good to see Hugh Laurie back on the big screen it all comes across as a bit of a hotch-potch of ideas and aspirations. The book's original questioning of Victorian values around child exploitation and of more general social attitudes seem to have been largely sidelined, robbing the story of much of it's heart and soul. It is also quite unnecessarily lengthy at just shy of two hours. As you'd expect, it is a good film to look at, featuring some very picturesque East Anglian villages that probably haven't changed anything like as much as this story from the days of Charles Dickens himself.