BBBBB
(out of 5)
After the abysmal Company Man, writer-director Douglas McGrath returns to the formula that previously yielded him the delightful Emma. Charlie Hunnam is terrific as the titular hero in this winning adaptation of Dickens’s popular novel, a young Victorian-era nineteen year-old who is suddenly thrust to the head of the household when his father passes away and leaves him in charge of taking care of his mother and sister. Making their way from the country to the big city of London, the family takes refuge in the home of their heartless uncle (Christopher Plummer), from whom they beg some help in terms of finding employment; unfortunately, they have no idea what manner of evil he is capable of. Nicholas is sent to work at a horrific boarding school, while his sister is given employment as a dressmaker’s assistant but also ends up being part of Plummer’s apparent plan to break into the world of pimping. Billy Elliot‘s Jamie Bell further proves a natural gift in acting as the mistreated young boy that Nicholas discovers at the boarding school and eventually takes under his wing. The original story has been beautifully pared down to a two-hour running time, and though the narrative sometimes jerks here and there in ways that make it obvious that it comes from a much larger source, it is nevertheless incredibly enjoyable. All the performances are pristine, most especially Plummer and a fabulous Tom Courtenay as his good-hearted manservant. Also features roles performed by Jim Broadbent, a terrifying Juliet Stevenson, Edward Fox, Alan Cumming, Nathan Lane, Dame Edna Everidge (!) and Sophie Thompson (Emma‘s Miss Bates).
United Kingdom/USA, 2002
Directed by Douglas McGrath
Screenplay by Douglas McGrath, based on the novel by Charles Dickens
Cinematography by Dick Pope
Produced by Simon Channing Williams, John Hart, Jeffrey Sharp
Music by Rachel Portman
Production Design by Eve Stewart
Costume Design by Ruth Myers
Film Editing by Lesley Walker
Cast Tags: Alan Cumming, Alexander Graham, Alfred Harmsworth, Amber Batty, Andrew Havill, Angela Curran, Angus Wright, Anne Hathaway, Barry Humphries, Billy Hill, Bruce Cook, Celia Henebury, Charlie Hunnam, Christopher Plummer, Daisy Haggard,David Bradley, Diana Morrison, Edward Fox, Edward Hogg, Eileen Walsh, Gerard Horan, Greg Sheffield, Heather Goldenhersh, Helen Coker, Henry McGrath, Hugh Mitchell, Jacob Engelberg, Jamie Bell, Jessie Lou Roberts, Jim Broadbent, Joel Pitts, Jordan Calvert, Juliet Stevenson, Kevin McKidd, Lisa Martin, Lucy Davis, Mark Dexter, Mark Meadows, Mark Wells, Nathan Lane, Nicholas Rowe, Philip Davis, Poppy Rogers, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Romola Garai, Sophie Thompson, Stella Gonet, Timothy Spall, Tom Courtenay, William Ash
Golden Globe Award Nomination
Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical
National Board Of Review Award
Best Acting by an Ensemble (Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Alan Cumming, Edward Fox, Romola Garai, Christopher Plummer, Anne Hathaway, Barry Humphries, Charlie Hunnam, Nathan Lane, Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson)
European Film Award Nomination
Audience Award-Best European Actress (Romola Garai)
