This adaptation best captures the book’s description of the two. Juliet Stevenson is a perfect foil for him as Mrs. Too many actors, including the usually great Alun Armstrong in 1982 version, make the character obviously unpleasant, while Broadbent displays a greasy faux charm. Jim Broadbent is also the greatest Wackford Squeers. But Jamie Bell’s is the best Smike as Dickens imagined him. I know I said that by giving the character a harder time speaking, the 1982 Nicholas Nickleby actually improved on the source material, so technically, I suppose, David Threlfall’s Smike was the best.
Jamie Bell is also the greatest Smike, doing a full-body cringe throughout the early part of the movie as if he expects to be beaten at any moment and making every rare time that he smiles heartwarming. On its own terms, I would say Plummer’s Ralph is the greatest. Plummer gives Ralph a bit too much of a sense of humor at times, the actor’s own personality is clearly in evidence. What I meant was that he did the best job recreating the character from the book. I know I said that John Woodvine was the best Ralph Nickleby in my last post. This film easily has the highest number of the greatest character portrayals in any Nicholas Nickleby, starting with Christopher Plummer’s performance as Ralph. Not that there wasn’t plenty of gloom in the book or that there wasn’t comedy in the play.
.jpg "nick nickleby")
And while it’s obviously a less complete and comprehensive adaptation than the 1982 televised play, it captures much more of the book’s high spirits, which were somewhat drowned by that adaptation’s gloom and pretension. It doesn’t include nearly as many of the novel’s characters, but it arguably takes fewer liberties with the ones it does include and one of them is John Browdie (Kevin McKidd)! and with the plot. The 2002 Nicholas Nickleby movie, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, makes an interesting counterpoint to the 1947 one.
0 kommentar(er)
