Review: 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' Exasperates, Exhilarates

There have been so many iterations of the Charles Dickens classic, "David Copperfield," one wonders why another one felt, in any way, necessary. During the silent screen era, there were no less than three adaptations. In 1935, George Cukor directed an all-star adaptation which received a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Numerous TV versions followed, including a 1999 BBC production that starred Daniel Radcliffe and Maggie Smith.

But since Armando Iannucci, creator of HBO's brilliant political satire "Veep," is the co-writer (with Simon Blackwell) and director of the latest, my expectations were high that he would find something vital in the story to warrant a new look.

The first 25 minutes of the two-hour film "The Personal History of David Copperfield" did not engage me at all, with its meandering Tim-Burton-meets-Terry Gilliam-style, broad-strokes telling of young David's miserable early life.

Luckily, older David soon appears and, as played by the gifted Dev Patel, invigorates the work. His buoyant and commanding performance takes the film into exhilarating directions.

For anyone not paying any attention in English class, the 600-page Dickens novel, published in 1850, tells the tale of the valiant titular character, born into confusion, who suffers a series of misfortunes, only to find fortune (via a relation), lose it, and find a way to get it back. Along the way, he encounters a host of oddball characters.

Iannucci fully embraces the wacky Dickens milieu and adds his own stylized satiric elements –surprisingly, most are social and not political. And, as is expected, the filmmaker keeps the proceedings moving at a brisk and breathless pace (as opposed to some of the stuffier past iterations). He and Blackwell also drop some subplots, rewrite a few character histories, and rework emphases where necessary.

But as in his biting film "The Death of Stalin," the parts here work better than the whole, meaning many scenes land superbly but the film overall never seems to mesh. In "Death of Stalin," Iannucci chose to have most of his actors speak using their own natural accents – which was quite jarring, it kept taking me out of the movie. I found it to be a curious and vexing choice. He makes a similar decision with this film in terms of casting.

And that brings us back to the question: Why adapt "David Copperfield" in 2020? Besides the obvious class themes that abound, the only other striking thing about Iannucci's version is his colorblind casting, having assembled a terrific and diverse group of actors. Alas, often there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the casting choices, so they manage to confuse more than gel. If Iannucci really wanted to make a statement, why not make it bold and cast the entire Copperfield clan diversely? Instead, the choices are random and exasperating.

That oddness, however, does not takes away from the strength of the performances. The film is filled with wonderful, zany turns by great thesps milking each eccentricity and idiosyncrasy and giving the film its raisons d'�tre beginning, as stated earlier, with Patel's captivating work.

Tilda Swinton is nothing short of hilarious as Aunt Betsey, the loony woman who has a vehement hatred of donkeys. Peter Capaldi (astonishing in Iannucci's "In the Loop") makes Mr. Micawber lovable, despite his deceptive nature. Hugh Laurie had me in stitches as Mr. Dick, a man with a beheaded-Charles-I obsession. Rosalind Eleazar is both beatific and charming as Agnes Wickfield, who has a (not so) secret crush on David. "Game of Thrones"-ite Gwendoline Christie makes for a terrifying Jane Murdstone. And Ben Whishaw, who seems to be scarily channeling Anthony Perkins, is to be commended for his creepy take on the cloying and scheming Uriah Heep. (His love for heavy cake alone must be experienced!)

Production values are excellent from the rousing score (Christopher Willis) to the frenetic camera work (Zac Nicholson), to the period-perfect production design (Cristina Casali) and costumes (Suzie Harman & Robert Worley).

"I love being called by other names," David growls, maddened by yet another person in his life calling him by their own pet nickname for him. The young writer wants to be who he wants to be, or who he is in the process of discovering he is. He's tired of capitulating to everyone around him. As embodied by Patel, David Copperfield can now forge his own journey and, actually, be the hero of his own story, which makes this re-imagining worthwhile.