Nicholas Nickleby [Blu-ray]

Director: Douglas McGrath Douglas McGrath

Overview

One of Charles Dickens' best-loved (and most complex) stories receives its fourth feature film adaptation in this lively historical comedy-drama. Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) is a 19-year-old who becomes the head of the family when his father dies unexpectedly. Keeping watch over his mother (Stella Gonet) and his sister Kate (Romola Garai) becomes an even greater challenge when Nicholas discovers that his father lost the family fortune due to ill-advised investments. Without a shilling to his name, Nicholas turns to his wealthy but unforgiving Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer) for help; Uncle Ralph offers to find work for all three, and Nicholas becomes a teacher at a school for unfortunate boys run by Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent) and his wife (Juliet Stevenson). Squeers and his wife are cruel and frequently violent toward their charges, and when Wackford, without cause, beats a weak and timid student, Smike (Jamie Bell), Nicholas decides he can take no more and runs away, with Smike in tow. The two young men fall in with a traveling theater troupe run by the genially eccentric Vincent Crummles (Nathan Lane) and his equally flamboyant spouse (Barry Humphries, aka Dame Edna Everage). In time Nicholas returns to London to check in on his sister and mother. To his horror, he learns that Uncle Ralph has promised Kate's hand to Sir Mulberry Hawk (Edward Fox), a wealthy older man with a less-than-wholesome interest in young women. Both Kate and Nicholas are upset at the prospect of this union, and Nicholas attempts to tear his family away from Uncle Ralph's control, beginning with a job working for the warm-hearted Charles Cheeryble (Timothy Spall) and his brother (Gerard Horan). Nicholas also falls in love with the fair Madeline (Anne Hathaway), but when Uncle Ralph learns of Nicholas' plot to foil Kate's impending marriage, he strikes back by kidnapping Smike and attempting to force Madeline to wed Sir Hawk. Actor, writer, and filmmaker Douglas McGrath adapted Nicholas Nickleby into a screenplay, as well as directing the picture.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/18/2022
UPC:	0850035985069
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	PG
Source:	Sandpiper Pictures
Language:	English
Time:	2:12:00
Sales rank:	17,098

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Charlie Hunnam	Nicholas Nickleby
Jamie Bell	Smike
Christopher Plummer	Ralph Nickleby
Jim Broadbent	Wackford Squeers
Juliet Stevenson	Mrs. Squeers
Anne Hathaway	Madeline
Edward Fox	Hawk
Romola Garai	Kate
Stella Gonet	Mrs. Nickleby
Andew Havill	Mr. Nickleby,Mr. Nickleby
Nathan Lane	Crummles
Tom Courtenay	Noggs
Alan Cumming	Folair
Barry Humphries	Mrs. Crummles
Timothy Spall	Charles Cheeryble
Gerard Horan	Ned Cheerible
Bruce Cook	Little Wackford Squeers
Phil Davis	Brooker
Heather Goldenhersh	Fanny Squeers
William Ash	Frank
Kevin McKidd	John Browdie
Nicholas Rowe	Lord Verisopht,Actor
David Bradley	Nigel Bray
Helen Coker	Tilda
Sophie Thompson	Miss Lacreevy
Hugh Mitchell	Boy Nicholas Nickleby
Angus Wright	Mr. Pluck
Eileen Walsh	The Infant Phenomenon
Henry McGrath	Child Nicholas Nickleby
Poppy Rogers	Child Kate Nickleby
Miranda Richardson	Actor
Rachel Portman	Composer

Technical Credits

Doug McGrath

Simon Carr	Special Effects
Gail Egan	Executive Producer
Nina Gold	Casting
John N. Hart	Producer
Michael Hogan	Executive Producer
Robert Kessel	Executive Producer
Jeffrey Sharp	Producer
Lina Todd	Casting
Simon Channing Williams	Producer
Doug McGrath	Screenwriter,Director
Tim Fraser	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

For this Charles Dickens adaptation, Emma director Douglas McGrath has wisely pared down the teeming, sprawling novel about a good-hearted and courageous young man making his way in the world. (The Royal Shakespeare Company produced a nine-hour stage version in 1980.) The compact yet faithful telling follows Nicholas (Charlie Hunnam), who, along with his mother and sister, finds himself in dire financial straits after the death of his beloved father. Over the course of the story, Nicholas sets about establishing himself as a responsible adult, all the while entrusting his fate to a collection of Dickens's more memorable and colorful characters, brought to life here by a marvelous cast of wily veterans. As Nicholas's wealthy and hard-hearted uncle Ralph, Christopher Plummer seethes with malevolent intensity. Oscar winner Jim Broadbent virtually froths with rabid glee in his portrayal of Wackford Squeers, the sadistic schoolmaster and archetypal Dickensian villain who employs Nicholas. The icing on the cake is provided both by Nathan Lane's Mr. Crummles, the traveling thespian who takes Nicholas in, and Barry Humphries, who, via his alter ego Dame Edna Everidge, plays Mrs. Crummles. Together, the pairing is simply priceless. Also featured are Alan Cumming, Anne Hathaway, and Billy Elliot star Jamie Bell as the hard-luck orphan Smike, Nicholas's loyal friend and companion. As entertaining as it is heartwarming, the film earned a 2003 Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical or Comedy Picture.

Barnes & Noble - David Sobel