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The Personal History of David Copperfield
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Wikipedia article
'The Personal History of David Copperfield' is a 2019 comedy-drama film written and directed by Armando Iannucci, based on the 1850 novel 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens. It stars Dev Patel as the title character, along with Aneurin Barnard, Peter Capaldi, Morfydd Clark, Daisy May Cooper, Rosalind Eleazar, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw and Paul Whitehouse.
The world premiere was at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2019 and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2020 by Lionsgate and in the United States on August 28, 2020 by Searchlight Pictures.
Plot
David Copperfield is born to his widowed mother, Clara, and begins saving noteworthy quotes from his life on scraps of paper. As a child, he visits his nanny Peggottys family in their upturned boathouse in Yarmouth and returns to find Clara has married the strict Mr. Murdstone. Bullied by his new step-aunt and beaten by his stepfather, David is sent to work in Murdstone's bottling factory in London, where he lodges with the Micawber family, who are pursued by their creditors.
As a young man, David still works at the factory, while the Micawbers are evicted by bailiffs and sent to debtors prison. Informed of his mother's death only after her funeral, David wreaks havoc in the factory and departs for Dover to find his wealthy aunt Betsey Trotwood, his only living relative. Her lodger, the eccentric Mr. Dick, believes himself to be burdened with the late King Charles Is thoughts and, like David, jots them down. David attaches these notes to a kite for Mr. Dick to fly, helping clear his mind, and meets Betseys accountant Mr. Wickfield and his daughter Agnes.
Admitted to a school for boys, David befriends classmate James Steerforth, and is knocked out in a boxing match with a local thug. Mr. Micawber briefly joins the school as a teacher, but is exposed by Steerforth as a fraud, leading Mr. Wickfields clerk Uriah Heep to try to blackmail David with knowledge of his past. At a farewell party at school, David meets Steerforth's mother and falls in love with a girl named Dora Spenlow. He is hired as a trainee lawyer with Doras father's firm in London, where he lives the life of a "young gentleman" and courts Dora.
Betsey arrives in London with Mr. Dick, having lost her fortune and home, and David is forced to decamp with them to a slum dwelling offered by Uriah, who has manipulated Mr. Wickfield into making him a partner and is attempting to court Agnes. David visits Pegotty's family with Steerforth, who runs away with Pegotty's adopted daughter Emily, leaving her longtime fianc Ham. Mr. Micawber now lives on the streets with his family and has pawned his beloved concertina, which he asks Mr. Dick to buy back. Instead, Mr. Dick steals it for him, and David invites the Micawbers to move in with him, Betsey, and Mr. Dick.
David begins to write the story of his life as a book, using the fragments he has saved since childhood. Agnes asks David, Micawber, Betsey, and Mr. Dick for a letter written by Mr. Wickfield as evidence of Uriahs misdeeds. They confront Uriah, who has been embezzling funds including Betseys missing fortune by forging Mr. Wickfield's signature, presenting the letter as proof. Uriah is punched by David after striking Betsey, and is dismissed. Recognising that she no longer fits in David's "story", Dora calls off their engagement, asking him to write her out of his book.
Emily is spotted in London and confronted by Steerforths mother, but rescued by David and Pegottys family. She reveals that Steerforth abandoned her in France, but he will return the following day to Yarmouth. When a storm wrecks Steerforths boat off the Yarmouth beach, Ham swims out on a line, but Steerforth refuses to be rescued and is drowned. Mourning his friends death, David realises he is in love with Agnes, who reciprocates. He publishes his book to great success, performing public readings of his story. His new career as a writer allows him to buy back Betseys home for her and Mr. Dick and continue to support the Micawbers, and he and Agnes marry and have a daughter.
Cast
Production
in July 2018
It was announced in February 2018 that Armando Iannucci would be writing, directing, and producing a new adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. Iannucci wrote the screenplay with co-writer Simon Blackwell. Dev Patel was cast in the title role later that month. In April, the supporting cast was added, which included Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Aneurin Barnard, Ben Whishaw and Morfydd Clark. In May 2018, Peter Capaldi was cast to play Mr. Micawber and pre-production was underway.
Filming began in June 2018 in Norfolk and Suffolk, with Gwendoline Christie, Benedict Wong, Paul Whitehouse, and Daisy May Cooper joining the cast. Scenes were shot in Hull, Bury St Edmunds, Weybourne and King's Lynn in July. Aimee Kelly was added to the cast the same month. Principal photography on the film concluded in August 2018. In filming 'David Copperfield,' it became the first theatrical film production of the novel in 50 years, as well as the first on-screen adaptation in 19 years.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 5 September 2019, followed by its European premiere on 2 October 2019, acting as the opening film of the 63rd BFI London Film Festival. It was the Surprise Film at the 39th Cambridge Film Festival. It was released in the United Kingdom by Lionsgate on 24 January 2020. In August 2019, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired North American rights to the film and scheduled the release on 8 May 2020. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema and the name 'Searchlight Pictures' which was changed by Disney, it was theatrically released later on 28 August 2020.
Reception
Box office
'The Personal History of David Copperfield' has grossed $1.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $12.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $14.4 million, against a production budget of $15.6 million.In the United States, it debuted $520,000 from 1,360 cinemas. Playing in 1,550 cinemas the following weekend it fell 24% to $361,000.
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "'The Personal History of David Copperfield' puts a fresh, funny, and utterly charming spin on Dickens' classic, proving some stories truly are timeless." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". PostTrak reported that 74% of audience members gave the film a positive score, with 50% saying they would recommend it.Writing for 'The Observer', Mark Kermode awarded the film a full five stars and stated: "It really is a wonderfully entertaining film, managing to both respect and reinvent the novel from which it takes its lead."
Accolades
References
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