Whereas Dickens pats himself on the back for the power of the written word, the film has a gift for gab. The Personal History of David Copperfield is, above all, a celebration of storytelling. He honours the eccentrics who inform and inspire him, but never elevates himself above an ordinary man.
Whether living in an upturned boat or in an unruly home plagued by clock-thieving creditors and a benefactor (Peter Capaldi) whose money slips through his fingers, Copperfield’s lived experience guides his work. Copperfield wears his humble origins proudly. This effect of breaking the fourth wall is unexpectedly touching. As Copperfield grows into a boy, played by Jairaj Varsani, Patel’s elder version keeps a watchful eye on his younger self while moulding his coming of age tale into a lark for audiences. His loud and vulgar aunt, Betsey Trotwood ( Tilda Swinton), natters self-indulgently and trades barbs with Pegotty the maid (Daisy May Cooper) while poor Clara Copperfield copes with labour pains. The adult Copperfield roams the halls of his childhood home while his mother (Morfydd Clark) readies to pop him out. Patel is a great raconteur as his Copperfield recalls his peculiar birth and upbringing. The film zips along as Copperfield recounts his bildungsroman to a theatre of enraptured onlookers. Patel shines as Dickens’ youthful riches to rags and rags to riches hero.
They twist Copperfield like a rubber chicken, playfully - nay, delightfully - imagining it anew. Armando Ianucci ( The Death of Stalin) makes the classic novel a sprightly and snappy affair with a first-rate performance by Dev Patel in the title role. This zany and truly inspired adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel puts classic literature in the present tense. It lets Dickens rattle his old bones, shake out the rigor mortis, and drink from the fountain of youth. What the Dickens?! The Personal History of David Copperfield brings the work of Charles Dickens wonderfully to life.
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