The Personal History of David Copperfield: Armando Iannucci delivers a minor miracle

Review: This is maybe the best Dickens film adaptation since David Lean

Dev Patel in The Personal History of David Copperfield

Dev Patel in The Personal History of David Copperfield

Armando Iannucci has had a bad idea for a film here. There are fewer feature adaptations of David Copperfield than you might think (it’s a full 50 years since the last one played in cinemas), but we’re coming down with “faithful” variations on competing 19th century texts. Not another! Set it in space. Play it backwards. For heaven’s sake don’t try and pack the whole thing into two hours.

Against the odds, Iannucci has delivered a minor miracle. Somehow or other, he has managed to touch all familiar elements over 119 consistently delicious minutes without allowing the slightest whiff of compromise. Of course, it feels hurried. But Iannucci’s great trick is to make that hurtling momentum a vital part of the experience. The dizzying rush is its own delight. Only the dullest purist will object. Few unfamiliar with the source will be bored.

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