The Battle
Book
The revelatory autobiography of a rugby colossus: Paul O'Connell There has never been a rugby player...
Captain Phillips (2013)
Movie Watch
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship...
Alan Buckley: Pass and Move: My Story
Alan Buckley and Paul Thundercliffe
Book
Alan Buckley has managed five football clubs over four decades and more than 1000 matches, putting...
'Allo 'Allo
TV Show
'Allo 'Allo! is a BBC television British sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to...
The Age of Bowie: How David Bowie Made a World of Difference
Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A handsome six footer with a warm and engaging personality, Davie Jones...
The Age of Bowie
Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'A handsome six footer with a warm and engaging personality, Davie Jones...
1971 - Never a Dull Moment: Rock's Golden Year
Book
The Sixties ended a year late - on New Year's Eve 1970, when Paul McCartney initiated proceedings to...
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) in Movies
Jan 26, 2020
Dev Patel stars as Copperfield, the star and narrator of the story which charts his personal rise from rags to riches during Victorian England. We begin though with Copperfield as an adult, recounting his life story to a small theatre audience as he steps into a painted backdrop behind him on stage, transporting him, and us, to the location of his birth. He enters the family home and continues to narrate from within the scene as his mother struggles with labour. It’s just one of a variety of wonderfully inventive storytelling devices that the movie employs throughout.
While the chaos of childbirth plays out, the first in a long line of star-studded supporting characters arrives, David’s eccentric Aunt Betsey (Tilda Swinton), and we immediately get a glimpse of the kind of humour Iannucci has brought to the story as she sets about upsetting Peggotty, the family housekeeper, and declares that the baby will definitely be a girl.
From there, the storyline is fast paced, weaving between locations as David grows up - from an overturned boat house in Yarmouth, to the chaos of London and the difficulties of working in a bottle factory, and on to the Kent countryside. Along the way we meet yet more big names, including Peter Capaldi, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Laurie, Paul Whitehouse and Benedict Wong. Not to mention countless other recognisable faces.
The Personal History of David Copperfield is a real mixing pot of beautiful visuals, quirky humour and larger than life characters. Realism has been ditched in order to deliver a whimsical tale that is accessible to all ages. Unfortunately though, it just didn’t work for me. Aside from the opening scenes, and the occasional moment later on, the humour didn’t land at all. In fact, I got more laughs from the incredible movie Parasite that I saw just the night before seeing this.
Dev Patel, always impressive and enjoyable in everything he does, is charming as David Copperfield and is definitely the standout. Benedict Wong and Hugh Laurie were both enjoyable, but I felt the others all suffered from a script that just wasn’t strong enough. A beautifully shot movie, bold and bright and vibrant, but instantly forgettable.
20 Years in a Montana Missile Silo by Pere Ubu
Album Watch
Fronted as ever by David Thomas, Pere Ubu unveil their new album, 20 YEARS IN A MONTANA MISSILE...
experimental rock
Fergie: The Greatest
Book
The story of Sir Alex Ferguson is a true rags-to-riches fairytale. When he announced he was to step...