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Dir: Armando Iannucci. Cast: Dev Patel, Peter Capaldi, Morfydd Clark, Daisy May Cooper, Rosalind Eleazar, Hugh Laurie, Tilda Swinton, Ben Whishaw. PG cert, 119 mins
Armando Iannucci has always been a comedic porcupine, pricking every spot in the political landscape. Be it The Death of Stalin , The Thick of It or Veep , his work has convincingly made the argument that cynicism is the only doctrine worth living by. But The Personal History of David Copperfield has finally coaxed out his sentimental side.
A vivacious adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, this is as wide-eyed and open-hearted as they come. Iannucci and his co-writer Simon Blackwell have skirted gently around the novel’s darker passages, even doing away completely with one character’s notable and tragic fate.
Perhaps Iannucci has found a small piece of himself in this story, about an author slowly affirming his own identity through his work (the book is said to be based on Dickens’ own experiences). Whatever the case, his film feels like a jaunt straight into a writer’s brain. It’s busy with ideas and characters, as the camera spins around richly coloured Victorian sitting rooms and chases its hero through all manner of situations. It’s self-conscious and theatrical, too, aided by Christopher Willis’ whimsical score. The film opens with David (Dev Patel) at a public reading of his memoirs, before the stage falls away and suddenly we’re watching him race down a countryside lane so he can reach Blunderstone Rookery in time to watch his own birth.
David’s idyllic childhood is interrupted by the sudden marriage of his mother (Morfydd Clark) to Mr Murdstone (Darren Boyd), an authoritative brute with an equally loathsome sister (Gwendoline Christie). The boy is passed between carers, before enrolling in school and training to become a proctor. It’s a whistlestop tour of Dickens’ 600-plus page book, making it the rare two-hour film that still feels breathless and compact. The Personal History is instead shaped by the various allies and oddballs David meets, each thrillingly brought to screen by the film’s cast: Tilda Swinton is a farcical delight as the flighty Betsey Trotwood; Ben Whishaw plays the manipulative Uriah Heep as a gremlin in a bowl cut; Benedict Wong is the right mix of gruff and sympathetic as the alcoholic Mr Wickfield, and Hugh Laurie adds shades of Bertie Wooster to the childish Mr Dick. The film’s diverse approach to casting will inevitably cause a fuss, but the joy is in how casually it all comes across. It’s a wonderful retort to Hollywood’s obsessive whitewashing of history.
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Released 31 January
Universal Pictures
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Released 7 February
Curzon Artificial Eye
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Released 28 February
Universal Pictures
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Released 20 March
Paramount Pictures
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Released 3 April
Universal Pictures
19 films to look out for in 2020 Antebellum Little is known about the plot for Antebellum, the feature film debut of artists and music video directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. But the thriller's trailer is a visual feast, with Janelle Monáe appearing to be caught between the present day and the horrors of a 19th century plantation. From producer Jordan Peele, director of Get Out and Us, it also features Jena Malone, Gabourey Sidibe and Kiersey Clemons. (Adam White) Released 24 April
Lionsgate Films
19 films to look out for in 2020 The Woman in the Window An adaptation of the pulpy bestseller (which itself was engulfed in mystery when a New Yorker feature claimed its author, AJ Finn, had extensively lied about his personal life and history), The Woman in the Window puts Amy Adams centre stage for the first time since 2018’s Sharp Objects. She’s an agoraphobic psychologist convinced she has witnessed a murder across the street from her apartment. Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman and Brian Tyree Henry co-star. (Adam White)
Released 15 May
20th Century Fox
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Released 12 June
Universal Pictures
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Released 5 June
Warner Bros Pictures
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Released 17 July
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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Released 17 July
Warner Bros Pictures
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Released 17 July
Paramount Pictures
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Released 24 July
Lionsgate
19 films to look out for in 2020 The Many Saints of Newark Whether you like it or not, a film prequel based on The Sopranos is being released in 2020. The presence of David Chase, the HBO show’s creator, goes a long way to abate any concerns fans might have, and it’ll at least be a fine chance to explore the mobsters’s family history. The film is expected to focus on Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Christopher, whose memory loomed large over the series. (Jacob Stolworthy)
Released 5 September
HBO
19 films to look out for in 2020 Last Night in Soho Edgar Wright is adding “psychological horror” to his filmmaking repertoire with Last Night in Soho, a neon-soaked thrill ride starring quite the ensemble (Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg). The intriguing plot focuses on a young girl for whom “time falls apart” after she’s somehow transported to the 1960s. It sounds like a cult hit in waiting. (Jacob Stolworthy)
Released 18 September
Getty Images
19 films to look out for in 2020 Everybody’s Talking About Jamie The feel-good West End smash is transformed into a feel-good movie, with Richard E Grant, Sarah Lancashire and Sharon Horgan leading the story of a teenage boy who overcomes insecurity by embracing drag. Newcomer Max Harwood portrays the title character. (Adam White)
Released 21 October
20th Century Fox
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Released 6 November
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
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Released 18 December
Getty Images
19 films to look out for in 2020 West Side Story Long in the works, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story looks set to be a festive smash this time next year. Speculated to be closer in spirit to the original Stephen Sondheim musical than the iconic 1961 film, this new version casts Ansel Elgort as Tony and newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria – the latter, incredibly, beat out more than 30,000 candidates for the role, after submitting an audition video via Twitter. (Adam White) Released 18 December
20th Century Fox
Patel brings the right kind of excitable, puppy dog charm to David. He’s so open to the world that he’s often lost to it – taking on identity after identity, nickname after nickname. He becomes Trotwood, Daisy and Doady all in one lifetime. But he’ll jot down quotes and observations along his way and, when he finally collates them into a book, he discovers himself between the lines.
The Personal History of David Copperfield makes the image of a man sitting down at his writing desk feel like a triumph for the ages.
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