
The Personal History of David Copperfield
3.4
(307)
Comedy
2019
119 min
PG
A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.
Starring:
Dev Patel
,
Peter Capaldi
,
Ben Whishaw
,
Tilda Swinton
,
Gwendoline Christie
,
Hugh Laurie
,
Anthony Welsh
Comedy
AD
Community ReviewsSee all
"Sad dismal portrayal of a great literary genius. Could only suffer 20 seconds of Tilda Swinton as she flopped as a idiotic character. This is a drama? Five minutes of my life gone forever …."
S J
Stewart Jackson
"In the end, “The Personal History of David Copperfield” is a story of absolution. For their parts, Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, and Hugh Laurie absolutely shine in this film and give it life. As the credits began to roll, I found myself smiling ear to ear. The stories of Charles Dickens are a lot like William Shakespeare. I assume we will be telling them for the rest of eternity. This newest entry is a wonderful adaption and more than worthy of your time."
"Watching this I'm reminded of when Neil Gaiman was asked why there was no movie of The Sandman. I paraphrase: imagine you have a favourite child. You then chop off their arms, legs and head to fit the remainder in a box.
The book David Copperfield is a slow rambling, shaggy dog of a story. This film indecently puts rocket boosters on that story. What you get is a blur.
Some stories can cope with being shortened to fit within a film. This cannot. In short, it's a bloody mess."
J Y
Josh Yates-Walker