The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

A modern take on Charles Dickens's classic tale of a young orphan who is able to triumph over many obstacles.

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 7 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	...	Referee Boy
Nigel Betts	...	Creditor
Ruby Bentall	...	Janet
Darren Boyd	...	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

A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David's journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, color and humanity.

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Plot Keywords:

1800s | fate | kite | orphan | child labour | 

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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.

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Whitehouse previously appeared in the 1999 adaptation of David Copperfield (1999), playing a pawnbroker who gets swindled by Wilkins Micawber.

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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

Betsey Trotwood: Peggotty? Peggotty? Peggotty? You mean to say a human being went into a church and had herself named Peggotty? Did you mother sneeze when you were christened?

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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)

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Soundtracks

The Mermaid
Traditional

User Reviews

A multicultural cast and very eccentric characters, yet still a rather unremarkable presentation of a remarkable story.

A mostly straightforward telling of Dicken's story but with a multicultural cast. Although the story of rags to riches to rags to riches is quite remarkable, this presentation wasn't really anything special, although the reproduction of Dickensian London was well done. Good acting and emphasizing the eccentricities of each of the characters brought some humour to the film, but it didn't really stand out.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Instagram

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 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:

$9,569,351

Company Credits

Production Co:

Film 4, FilmNation Entertainment, Searchlight Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39:1