The Personal History of David Copperfield
This is a gentle take on Charles Dickens ’ lengthy and partly autobiographical novel. The story of poverty giving way to success, and falling in love - not to mention debtors prisons and harshly cruel characters is turned into a light comedy by none other than Armando Iannuccu : a man known for satirising politics of a decade or more ago, or the Death of Stalin. The film is also curious because it’s Dev Patel ’s second consecutive work located in the East of England: specifically Great Yarmouth and Bury St Edmunds. Patel is a very likeable Copperfield: a character synonymous with Dickens even to the point where he stands at a stage and reads at the beginning and end. This framing device echoes Dickens’ own public performances. Most people will have read the massive novel in serial form though, and presentations of it usually have lengthy running times. Iannucci has cut the story to its elements though, and this is a great move. You’d have to be a poe-faced purist to not enjoy ...