I love stories with heroes that display courage, honor, and virtue. I think, to some degree, that is also why I'm an Anglophile (a lover of period films). Back in the Victorian era, honor and virtue were everything. Authors like Charles Dickens understood this, and often made his heroes out to be hardworking, compassionate young men caught up in a world of evil, lies, and cruelty. Dickens also had a profound effect through his novels on the English school system; he forced authorities to take a closer look at orphanages and boys' boarding schools. He would love this film.
'Nicholas Nickleby' is only the second adaptation and directorial triumph of Douglas McGrath. Based on this and his wonderful success with Emma, I hope he makes many more. He is one of the few directors who shows restraint when it is needed, and yet does not fail to make the conflicts within the hero's life suitably obvious. He makes us loathe and hate the villains without being subjected to graphic material, which is something sadly lacking in many Hollywood films. As a director, I admire his work. As a writer, I admire it even more. The dialogue here is poetic, sometimes wrought with wit, and always impacting.
There are, interwoven with this deep drama, splashes of humor -- the theatre troupe's production of Romeo & Juliet, some of the banter between Uncle Ralph and his tipsy but goodhearted clerk, even some dry reactions from the one-eyed Squeers. The casting is brilliant. Chrisopher Plummer plays Uncle Ralph with such tainted pleasure that we learn to loathe him, but also in the end to pity the mess he has made of his life. Charlie Hunnam, in the role of Nicholas, is exceptional; few young men can blend in with a Victorian environment. Like Helena Bonham-Carter, he was born to star in costume dramas. Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) and Jamie Bell, along with an enormous supporting cast (everyone from Nathan Lane to Nicholas Rowe) were superb. There's not a weak actor in the lot.
The hero is in every way above reproach -- he refutes lies with a swift tongue, takes compassion on his enemies, and shows justice to one and all. The world would be a better place if more young men were raised with the same high standard of honor and virtue as Nicholas Nickleby.
'Nicholas Nickleby' is only the second adaptation and directorial triumph of Douglas McGrath. Based on this and his wonderful success with Emma, I hope he makes many more. He is one of the few directors who shows restraint when it is needed, and yet does not fail to make the conflicts within the hero's life suitably obvious. He makes us loathe and hate the villains without being subjected to graphic material, which is something sadly lacking in many Hollywood films. As a director, I admire his work. As a writer, I admire it even more. The dialogue here is poetic, sometimes wrought with wit, and always impacting.
There are, interwoven with this deep drama, splashes of humor -- the theatre troupe's production of Romeo & Juliet, some of the banter between Uncle Ralph and his tipsy but goodhearted clerk, even some dry reactions from the one-eyed Squeers. The casting is brilliant. Chrisopher Plummer plays Uncle Ralph with such tainted pleasure that we learn to loathe him, but also in the end to pity the mess he has made of his life. Charlie Hunnam, in the role of Nicholas, is exceptional; few young men can blend in with a Victorian environment. Like Helena Bonham-Carter, he was born to star in costume dramas. Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries) and Jamie Bell, along with an enormous supporting cast (everyone from Nathan Lane to Nicholas Rowe) were superb. There's not a weak actor in the lot.
The hero is in every way above reproach -- he refutes lies with a swift tongue, takes compassion on his enemies, and shows justice to one and all. The world would be a better place if more young men were raised with the same high standard of honor and virtue as Nicholas Nickleby.