The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

The lead actor, the gentleman (Dev Patel) acting skills is thoroughly impressive! 🙂🥇

His supporting cast is likewise impressive.

So why might one give this film only 4/10?

For me movies are about:

• Believability and Escapism

The movie utterly fails on this regard with the over colourised casting of ethnic minority members #replacing what originally should've been a European White cast, being in the mid 1800s the story is set in.

I and my Mom wanted and expected to see a majority/overwhelmingly authenticity to Charles Dickens original story (and historical) settings...sadly this is not the correct "adaptation" for such hopes.

(N.B. I'm a coloured person as is my Mom).

For example:

• I loved the Indian epic: Panipat, a beautiful Bollywood production that was fully immersive and with the correct casting of the ethnicity of its cast (i.e. all being middle Eastern/Indian subcontinent cast).

• I also loved IpMan4 which was very accurate to its timeline and historical context of what the USA was like, in many ways then (and naturally, most of the cast was Oriental as accurately portraying the story context).

I don't understand why European and Hollywood seems to like to actively trash their ancestral heritage and stories, by artificially "colourising them up", that it becomes like a modern multicultural city in the West instead #Facepalm.

It spoils the temperament - story context and ultimately for my family trip to see this, the believable-escapism of what this movie was meant to do, that is:

*To take the audience onto a really immersive journey of escapism and authentic appreciation of what-it-was-like for Charles Dickens protagonist, in mid 19th Century Britain.

Such a disappointment, of intersectionalist ideology corruption into, what would otherwise have been a 6 or 7 out of 10 movie, had the story been true, to its original Western European roots.

A disappointed viewer from China & Hong Kong.

Fmovies: One of Dickens greatest comedy-dramas cheapened into a ridiculous slapstic comedy with an unrealistic PC cast that makes no sense in Victorian England. Barely any dialogue or reference to the book. Only serves to make the 1999 TV version even more loved. Almost as bad as last year's Christmas Carol travesty shown on the BBC. Will Dickens ever get respect deserved again on the big screen? Hopefully won't be too long until this story is told properly.

I don't know why so many people have been so negative about this film. I set up this account specifically to give my two pence to this vibrant rendition!

Giving such a dark story humour was admittedly a controversial move, but it paid off in my opinion. Every role in the film resonates with character, and the eccentricity balances the drama well.

My favourite part was the passionate, progressive score by Christopher Willis. Go listen to The Pages Must Show. Now!

The Personal History of David Copperfield fmovies. There's a lot of negative reviews about this movie - mainly due to casting of NON-white (black, Asian, Indian) actors in critical roles. If you check the review data though, you'll see that about 75% of total reviews are between 6 and 10 stars. I loved the movie, could have been a little shorter, but that's more about me liking short movies. Wonderful character acting, whimsical story telling. Don't miss this movie!

Dev Patel carries the role of David Copperfield gracefully and naturally. He meets many characters along the way that vividly come to life on screen in ways that make you feel as though you are reading the descriptions as they unfolded on the page. They are almost caricatures in a very whimsical and delightful way. The rollercoaster that takes David from being the only son of a widow to the discarded baggage of a new marriage also makes him the guest in an overwhelmingly loving (yet constantly indebted) family. The ride continues as he becomes a young man on the run and on his fresh start as a gentleman with a past and then finally landing as a man in love with a girl who is out of place in his story.

Though we are introduced to a wonderful array of supporting characters who help David on his long and winding journey, we do not get to spend enough time getting to know them because of the fast pace of the film. We feel his connection to them based on all of the great performances, however, it is tough to stay connected to them on the other side of the lens as the pace through situations races ahead. The third act of the film is where it is felt the most. As all of the characters come together for a very satisfying ending, it would have been nice to have more time with the characters as they enjoy the spoils of ride they took together.

In the end, this is a redemption story about a very interesting character and his extraordinarily interesting life. David and his engaging journey have every element needed to go from whimsical to scary to revenge filled and eventually a satisfying conclusion. I would definitely recommend it. There are brilliant performances all around and the film is a welcome escape from the current lack of whimsy in the world.

So. Try and say something positive. Brilliant costumes. Great acting. That is it. What a dull boring film. A real waste of time going to see this.