Nicholas Nickleby **** (2002, Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, Christopher Plummer) – Classic Movie Review 2719

Charles Dickens’s tale of a young schoolmaster Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam), who joins a band of entertainers to support his family after being deprived of his fortune by his wicked uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer), is tastily retold in this smart, stirring and handsome-looking movie.

Screen-writer/director Douglas McGrath’s delicious 2002 film of Dickens’s book is a smashing show with a lovely cast delivering exactly the super, exuberant acting it needs.

Charlie Hunnam, from TV’s Queer As Folk, is ideal as Nick, Plummer thrills as the evil Uncle Ralph Nickleby, Juliet Stevenson and Jim Broadbent are outstanding as Mrs and Mr Squeers, Jamie Bell rings the right note as Smike, Nathan Lane is excellent as the travelling entertainer Crummles and Barry Humphries scores as Mrs Crummles.

It also stars Anne Hathaway as Madeline Bray, Tom Courtenay as Newman Noggs, Romola Garai as Kate Nickleby, Kevin McKidd, Edward Fox, Nicholas Rowe, Alan Cumming, Philip Davis, Timothy Spall and Sophie Thompson.

Dick Pope’s cinematography and Eve Stewart’s production designs are the impeccable best of British.

It follows the 1947 film version with Derek Bond, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Stanley Holloway and Bernard Miles.

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Roger Rees, best known for playing Nicholas Nickleby on the West End and Broadway stage and on TV died of cancer in New York on July 10, 2015, aged 71.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2719

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