Providing new twists on old material can be both risky and a heavy lift. Fans of the material become used to one type of interpretation and can often become hostile to anything new. If creatives are able to stick the landing however, a new twist can breathe new life into an established work. The Personal History of David Copperfield takes the legendary novel by Charles Dickens and completely turns it on its head, presenting the text anew with comedy and whimsy. The story is the same we have all become familiar with; as we shadow David Copperfield (Dev Patel) from birth to adulthood as he navigates poverty and the social strata of Victorian England. As he matures, David meets an array of remarkable characters in his journey toward family, friendship, romance, and status.
The Personal History of David Copperfield’s charm emanates completely from the comedic liberties that director and screenwriter Armando Iannucci takes with the source material, transforming a novel known more for its darker themes into something whimsical and entertaining. The humor in the film is witty and quick, providing a laugh a minute that is expertly portrayed by the talented ensemble cast. Despite its comedic tone, the underlying theme from Dickens’ work remains as we watch David embark upon a journey toward self-discovery. The source material’s emphasis on the people in David’s life always calling him by some nickname, whether it be Daisy, Davidson, or Trotwood, David’s name, and therefore identity, are always out of his control and he never musters up the strength to object until the sum of his experiences provides him with the strength and fortitude to do so.
The matter of his name is just a metaphor for the sum of his experiences, which the audience also experiences as it embarks upon David’s journey alongside him. David goes from a happy life with his mother, to several miserable ones immersed in poverty, to tasting gentlemanly privilege, back down to the horrors of poverty, then happiness and privilege again. It is the sum of these experiences that allow David to discover himself and forge his own identity that he feels comfortable in, an experience that remains relatable to those following Dickens’ story more than a century and a half after it was written.
In addition to the liberties that were taken with the tone and content of the source material, director Armando Iannucci also takes the opportunity to impart creative cinematography and camera work in David Copperfield that adds as much life to the film as its comedic elements. The transition shots presented by Iannucci and director of photography Zac Nicholson are extremely artistic, often melding one scene into the next with the wave of a curtain or a character on horseback traveling from one landscape to another. Iannucci and Nicholson also dig deep into the bag of available transition cuts with some visually appealing and impressively done match cuts and wipe cuts. The film’s depiction of flashbacks and perspective changes that employ imparting one scene involving one set of characters within a separate scene involving other characters that not only the audience can see but that the characters within the scene can see and react to really raised the bar on visuals in a comedy film not seen since 2018’s Game Night. The Personal History of David Copperfield is a film that depicts the wonders of human imagination and the cinematography present in the film matches that theme perfectly.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is stacked with an all-star cast that is as talented as it is diverse. You would be hard pressed to find a name you don’t recognize in the ensemble led by Dev Patel, but also including the likes of Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Benedict Wong, Peter Capaldi, and Gwendoline Christie. All of the big named actors provide performances in line with what we’ve come to expect from them, with Swinton, Laurie, and Capaldi specifically providing many of the film’s laugh out loud moments. A deliberate choice was made during the casting to go into finding actors with not only diverse working backgrounds spanning the screen and the stage, but to fill the roles on a racially blind basis resulting in an extremely diverse Victorian England setting. The work from the ensemble cast and extras is of a caliber that their racial makeup immediately becomes an afterthought. Wong’s Mr. Wickfield is so funny and has such great chemistry with Rosalind Eleazar’s Agnes that you cease noticing the father-daughter pair consists of an Asian man and Black woman. The choice is sure to elate many viewers and open the minds of others to the possibilities and feasibility of casting choices that buck previous trends.
While almost a complete 180 degree turn from what we’re used to from the novel it’s based upon, The Personal History of David Copperfield is a fanciful, humorous, and entertaining romp that both honors the source material and provides a fresh take that allows the imagination of its creators and the audience to run wild. Armando Iannucci gives us a film that is both a joy to look and fun to experience with an extraordinary cast that he pulls the best from. In trying times for film and the world alike, The Personal History of David Copperfield is a reminder of the pleasure that can be derived from quality cinema.
Image: Searchlight Pictures
