You'd have to be a real Scrooge to remain unmoved by the boundless generosity of spirit in the work of Charles Dickens. His books, many of which were first published in serial form, featured often idealistic protagonists taking on Victorian England and its rigid class system in order to achieve their dreams. The prolific author also created hissable villains whose cruelty and bitterness still manage to get under readers' skins.
No surprise, then, that Dickens' body of work has proven to be a natural fit for film and television, with his more famous works being adapted dozens of times for the big and small screens.
Dev Patel stars in "The Personal History of David Copperfield" (Photos courtesy Searchlight Pictures)
What happens when a filmmaker wants to imprint their own particular worldview into a famous writer's beloved text? To this critic, that gamble worked when Baz Luhrmann distilled William Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet” through his gaudy, rococo sensibility back in 1996. In 2009, the alchemy between Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson proved greater than the sum of its parts when the “Grand Budapest Hotel” auteur turned “Fantastic Mr. Fox” into a brilliant stop motion animated feature.
So what, then, to make of Armando Iannucci's stab at making “David Copperfield” his own? The man behind the sharp political satire “In the Loop” and HBO's “Veep” took on a Herculean task, attempting to imbue Dickens' epic 1850 tale of a poor lad's quest for fortune and personal fulfillment with his trademark sardonic irreverence, all while retaining the source material's earnestness.
Morfydd Clark and Dev Patel in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
It's a tall order, one that the Oscar-nominated filmmaker royally screws up, despite noble intentions, a strong ensemble cast, spiffy production values and some inventive flourishes. (We'll get to those soon.) Iannucci deserves credit for aiming high, which makes this frequently cringe-inducing stumble all the more unfortunate.
How to describe “The Personal History of David Copperfield”? On the costume drama Kinsey scale, it occupies a no-man's-land between Masterpiece Theater and Monty Python. It undercuts its aesthetic boldness at nearly every turn, because for every inspired idea in reinterpreting the contents of Dickens' eighth novel, two or three wrongheaded choices stand in the way.
One of the ideas that work, and in a more accomplished film would have likely captured viewers' imagination, is to make the cast, led by “Slumdog Millionaire's” Dev Patel, multi-ethnic. The film, after all, is about the oppressed attempting to stand up against their oppressors, so what better way to convey this struggle than by highlighting representation in a nonchalant way?
Even more impressive is how much of the novel Iannucci and co-screenwriter Simon Blackwell are able to compress into two hours. Even if by tweaking the chronology, some of the dramatic impact is lost, it's a noteworthy attempt at encompassing the breadth of what is often considered Dickens' most personal book within the running time confines of a feature film.
Hugh Laurie, Dev Patel and Tilda Swinton in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
The story goes like this: David is born to a widowed mother (Morfydd Clark), to the disdain of his feisty Aunt Betsey (Tilda Swinton), who was certain the stork would deliver a girl. Years later, Mom marries the unctuous Edward Murdstone (Darren Boyd), who, along with his equally vile sister Jane (Gwendoline "Game of Thrones" Christie) conspires to send the boy away to work at his miserable bottling factory. The boy has a ripe imagination that helps him deal with his dire circumstances, but the drudgery has a soul-crushing effect, leading him to flee as a teen. But his self-emancipation comes at a price, since he walks away with nothing. What becomes of our unflappable hero? Cue a series of homes with shaky foundations and even shakier parental figures, played by famous faces like “Doctor Who's” Peter Capaldi and “House M.D.'s” Hugh Laurie.
Sounds like a corker of a story, right? How I wish that were the case.
Dev Patel, Rosalind Eleazar and Hugh Laurie in in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
In chronicling the resilient protagonist's struggles against adversity and his eventual discovery of his gift for storytelling, this “Personal History” is done in by its warring tonal strands, Rather than seamlessly blend Dickens' often dark narrative turns and unblinking depiction of 19th century squalor with his tongue-in-cheek ribbing, Iannucci ends up with a schizoid mess in his hands.
The film pulls viewers in opposing directions, sometimes within the space of the same scene. That would not be an issue if the funny stuff was actually, you know, funny. Alas, the jokes land with a thud more often than not, suggesting the material would have been better served if Iannucci had gone for an even wilder subversion or had reined in the comedic schtick. As is, the movie is neither here nor there.
The thing is, the cast is not only on point but more than capable of dealing with the (attempted) laughs and pathos, none more committed than Patel, who is quite affecting and winsome, at least when the movie allows him to be. Cinematographer Zac Nicholson and production designer Cristina Casali, meanwhile, support Iannucci's high-wire act as best they can, but the end result made this critic's eyes glaze over at the wide angle overkill and the sets' aggressively fanciful storybook feel.
Aneurin Barnard and Dev Patel in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
It's not just the sensory overload that rankles. Perhaps most dispiriting of all is the way the movie codes its scheming antagonist, social climber Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw, sporting a bowl cut), as that most unsavory of stereotypes: the backstabbing queen with a domineering mother.
Whishaw, a versatile and dependable actor, delivers the screenplay's double entendres with relish, but Iannucci and Blackwell have trouble parsing out the motive behind David's contempt for the character, and are ultimately unable to separate Uriah's subtextual queerness from his dastardly deeds. It's not a good look for a film that ostensibly celebrates diversity and representation. (One thing is certain: Whishaw would make a smashing Norman Bates.)
Ben Whishaw in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
David Copperfield's journey is full of peaks and valleys. The reason behind its enduring appeal is that it transcends its comprehensive depiction of a specific time and place to arrive at universal truths about human nature at its best and most deplorable. Turning his story into a Gilliamesque oddity might have looked good on paper, but in aiming for awkward reinvention, this literary adaptation topples under the weight of its lead-footed whimsy. It's a letdown.
Tilda Swinton, Dev Patel, Hugh Laurie and Rosalind Eleazar in "The Personal History of David Copperfield."
“The Personal History of David Copperfield” is now playing at the newly reopened theaters in Broward County, including Regal Oakwood Plaza, Regal Cypress Creek, AMC Pembroke Lake, AMC DINE-IN Coral Ridge and Paradigm Cinemas in Tamarac. It's scheduled to open in Miami-Dade on Sept. 4 when multiplexes reopen.
