Movie Review # 381: The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2020)

Hello everyone! Hope you all have been enjoying your week so far! Anyway, today, we are once again taking a short break from the 007 films. This time around, we are talking about the second movie that I saw in theaters recently, since movie theaters reopened a couple weeks ago. The film that we are talking about today is based on a novel by the name of David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens. Presenting th e one and only movie version of the story, The Personal History Of David Copperfield.

Plot: An adult David Copperfield (Dev Patel) redoubts to some people some of his life story, consisting of suffering from child abuse after his birth father dies, going to boarding school, to even reuniting with his family as an adult after a tragic event occurs in his family.

Wow, for a movie that was set around the mid-1800s, and for all the difficult things that our main character goes through, this film knows how to still be really good anyway. First off, The Personal History Of David Copperfield reaches people a really great lesson on how to be willing to endure difficult circumstances, no matter what. Not to mention that there’s also the lesson about finding joy even when having to go through certain hardships. Yes, a lesson like this was taught in fairy tales like Cinderella. Even so, the lesson is taught from a newer angle this time around. That would likely help make the lesson less cliche, wouldn’t you say? The movie also does a great job of showing what life was like in places like Yarmouth, Massachusetts, during this time period, well known as the Victorian Era. In addition to this, the movie shows another important lesson about being willing to forgive others, no matter how badly they may have screwed up their lives. Additionally, The Personal History Of David Copperfield does a superb job of portraying the fact that life can be full of many twists, and turns along the way. Believe me when I say that you may yet be surprised by the moments where this proves to be true in the film. That’s definitely an additional reason to appreciate this film. If one has forgotten that in life people will not always get the happy things that they want, then that’s another reason to watch this film, or any other film that would teach a lesson like that. Another thing that makes this film well done is that each of the characters are really, really well-thought out. I mean it is surprising how much you love to really love these characters, or even hate them in the case of the villains, you know? Going off of that as well, the relationships are also very well handled. Honestly, after seeing that aspect of this film, I found myself wishing that there were more movies out there that had more complicated types of relationships. Granted, maybe there are fewer of those films. It’s just that people could find themselves thinking of more films that could have had the potential to write in relationships like that, you know? That is especially since complicated relationships, be it romantic ones, or just friendships period, actually exist in the real world, you know? Also, some of you have read the Charles Dickens novel that this film was based on, have you not? Well, I have never read the entire novel. However, I did read the Spark Notes version of this story. After reading either that, or the novel, and seeing this film, you may be glad to find how close this film sticks to it’s original source material. Now yes, there were some changes here and there that were made for the film. However, the movie still ends up having the same spirit of the David Copperfield novel. It’s just like how Joseph: King Of Dreams being really close to the Joseph event in Genesis, or the 2019 remake of The Lion King sticking closely to the original 1994 animated Lion King, but with sone changes here and there. All in all, the same can be said about The Personal History Of David Copperfield stocking closely to it’s novel. However, the one thing that could have made this film possibly better is that the way that the story was structured, particularly in the beginning, could have most likely been restructured in a way that may not have made the rest of the film more predictable, you know? Of course this movie is really good, regardless, but still.

And that’s my review of The Personal History Of David Copperfield. The story is really well done, the characters are spectacular (same with the actors, and actresses who play them), really good cinematography, and anything else that one could ask for in a really good film. If movie theaters are open near you, and/or you haven’t seen this film yet, this is one of those films that you need to go to the movie theater to see. It is that good. Oh, and just a side note, make sure that you wear your face mask if you see this film in theaters, along with any other future theatrical releases for however long we Americans need to.

Final Grade: A