The Personal History of David Copperfield

 

The Personal History of David Copperfield

• Director: Armando Ianucci
• In the Loop
• Based on the book by Charles Dickens
• Cast: Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Aneurin Barnard, Darren Boyd, Daisy May Cooper, Rosalind Eleazar, Bronagh Gallagher, Jairaj Varsani, Ben Whishaw
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Dev Patel – Hotel Mumbai, Lion, The Man Who Knew Infinity, Chappie, Hotel Marigold 1&2, Slumdog Millionaire
• Peter Capaldi – Doctor Who, World War Z, In the Loop, Modigliani, Shooting Fish, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Local Hero
• Tilda Swinton – Doctor Strange, Hail Caesar, Snowpiercer, Only Lovers Left Alive, Moonrise Kingdom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Burn After Reading, Michael Clayton, Broken Flowers, Thumbsucker, Young Adam, Beach, Orlando
• Hugh Laurie – The Night Manager, Black Adder, Sense and Sensibility, Jeeves and Wooster, Peter’s Friends
• Aneurin Barnard – Dunkirk
• Darren Boyd – Fortitude, The World’s End, Kiss Me Kate
• Bronagh Gallagher – The Guernsey Literature and Potato Peel Pie, Society, Tamara Drewe, Sherlock Holmes, Tara Road, Mary Reilly, Pulp Fiction, The Commitments
• Ben Whishaw – London Spy, Spectre, Sky Fall, Cloud Atlas, King Richard, The Tempest, Bright Star
• Why? The cast. The book
• Seen: 26 November 2022 

       If you don’t know the story, read the book. It’s lovely.

       Here Patel plays the adult David and narrates his story, popping in and out of scenes from his childhood. Capaldi is a wonderful Macawber and Gallagher is good as Mrs Macawber. Swindon is Miss Trotwood, Hugh Laurie is Mr Dick and Whishaw is Uriah Heep. Enough said.

       It’s exuberant, boisterous and beautiful. It’s the best version of the book I have ever seen. 

5 * of 5