The first round of critical reactions to The Personal History of David Copperfield has been generally positive. (Its rating on Rotten Tomatoes currently stands at 92 percent Fresh -- which, in case you're not familiar with Rotten Tomatoes, is excellent.)
As I tracked critical responses on Twitter immediately after the premiere, descriptions that kept popping up included "whimsical," "quirky," "imaginative," and "charming." The consensus was that Dev Patel fit the lead role perfectly (and had amazing hair, to boot). The interactions between Hugh Laurie as Mr. Dick and Tilda Swinton as Aunt Betsey were frequently singled out for praise, and Peter Capaldi's Mr. Micawber and Ben Whishaw's Uriah Heep got a couple of shoutouts as well.
A few samples from the full-length reviews:
- "Choosing to follow up his rapturously received festival hit The Death of Stalin with an adaptation of a novel so well known, Iannucci tasks himself with refreshing rather then revising. From the outset, he employs some unexpected stylistic touches and adds racial diversity to his colour-blind cast – but stops short of anything that would drastically modernise the text. Instead, he finds a way of transposing his rhythm on to the source material, creating the sort of well-choreographed, well-timed group comedy that makes his narrative work so distinctive. It’s a deceptively delicate art of his, one that comes to life with sharp dialogue and canny direction. But it wouldn’t work without a cast of actors who complement each other’s performance styles so perfectly." (Benjamin Lee, The Guardian)
- "The wild characters and up-and-down power dynamics of Charles Dickens are an unexpected but ultimately natural home for Iannucci and his co-writer, Simon Blackwell, who breeze through a massive novel with a particular attention to its comedy and its exploration of class and ambition. But rather than doing something as garish as updating David Copperfield with Iannucci’s modern, expletive-laced vernacular, the director has proven how modern David Copperfield has felt all along." (Katey Rich, Vanity Fair)
- "Iannucci’s version of 'DC' is so splendid, fun, layered, and smart that I urge Fox Searchlight to issue it in time for the Oscars rather than waste it next winter. Iannucci’s movie is destined to be a masterpiece I think, it’s so fresh and unique, able to entertain on many levels at once. It’s actually a very subversive family film, perfect for the holidays." (Roger Friedman, Showbiz411)
And finally, Deadline has an interview here with director Armando Iannucci; Patel talks about the scene where he accidentally elbowed Swinton in the face; and Laurie tackles a question about the colorblind casting. Next stop, London!
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