The Personal History of David Copperfield

We've seen many biopics before--it seems to be a Hollywood fave, but what makes "The Personal History of David Copperfield" so much more interesting is the fact that this film, based on a fictitional character plays out as though Copperfield is a real person. Based on Charles Dickens' classic novel, this is an original expose of what this character must've been like.

A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens' semi-autobiographical masterpiece, this story, set in the 1840's, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. David's (Dev Patel) journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, color and humanity. Along his trek as his life unfolds is Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper), Betsy Trotwood (Tilda Swinton), Mr. Dick (Hugh Laurie), Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw), Steerforth (Aneurin Barnard), Mr. Micawber (Peter Capaldi).

Others to round out the cast are Rosalind Eleazar as Agnes, Anthony Welsh as Ham, Benedict Wong as Mr. Wickfield, Gwendoline Christie as Jane Murdstone and Paul Whitehouse as Daniel Peggotty. 

This was whimsically directed by Armando Iannucci ("2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "The Death of Stalin" '17) plus TV and a TV short. The way this filmmaker was able to convey this film into it appearing as though it was a biopic was brilliant. As the audience watches this, one has to keep telling themselves that this isn't a biopic, but a fresh and original story about this character. Dev Patel has certainly proven himself as an accomplished actor, but this was incredible. He was amazingly believeable. It was effectively written by Simon Blackwell ("The Way It Is" (TV movie) 2000, "Monkey Trousers" (TV movie) '04, "2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "Four Lions" (additional writing) '10) plus TV and a TV short, and Iannucci ("Angllan Lives: Alan Partridge" (TV movie) '03, "2004: The Stupid Version" (TV movie) '04, "In the Loop" '09, "Milton's Heaven and Hell (TV movie documentary) '09, "The Death of Stalin" '17) plus TV, a TV short and a video, based on the classic novel by Charles Dickens. Although it was a fesh, original chronicling of the Dickens' character, the way the film kept going back and forth in a fashback format, normally it would be an effective way to tell the story, but with this, it went back and forth a bit too much, so it became somewhat confusing. Maybe if it was constructed in more of a sequential way within the flashback, it might have worked better. Not sure. The acting by Patel, Swinton, Laurie, Whishaw, Barnard and Capaldi are all seasoned pros in their field which made this the film it truly wanted to be, but the writing could've been a bit more polished. Still, at the end of the day, this was a very interesting way to convey a classic story for a new generation of moviegoers. 

If you are a Dickens fan or even a period film fan, you will love this. This comedy-drama will warm the hearts and entertain you all the while keeping one wondering if this is a biopic or not. The direction is tight, concise and absolutely makes these characters come to life. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                          Rated: PG                                              119mins.