I am proud to be the first person on IMDb to review this inspiring and love-engendering film. Casting Charlie Hunnam, who had shown such brilliant promise and human beauty in the original version of "Queer As Folk", was inspired. He belongs in the lead role of this movie like no other actor. No one else quite has that incredible expressive quality of open face, loving eyes, memorable voice, and, to my reckoning, phenomenally expressive hands (as I was fortunate enough to tell him at tonight's screening when I got to shake them...I will be high for a month!). If you go see this movie, please look for the hands and you will see what I mean, Charlie is a person who, even without words, can express his meaning right down through the very tips of his fingers.
One of my favorite lines of his (of many) was, "I'm not an angel, but I will be careful in listing my faults for fear that I would be too persuasive" and the whole time he is saying it, you keep thinking, "But he IS an angel, he really is." This is a character who goes to any length to collect under his protective wings as many deserving lost and wounded people as he can, and in Victorian London, there were tons of them. I find that I don't crave to know somebody like that, but to BE somebody like that. I feel that I am not protecting nearly enough people (actually, I'm really not protecting anybody), but, as compensation, I can at least be thankful that our society provides more safety nets.
But for those movie-goers who aren't as receptive to human goodness as perhaps they ought to be, those who like to see a little evil, this movie will not fail to disappoint...in fact, to me, the evil shown in this movie, which is so very REAL and kept me at the edge of my seat in fearful misery more than anything ever induced by something as ridiculous as the typical horror movie, far outshines the level of evil such as shown in a movie like the "The Lord of the Rings," which is really just a disembodied fantasy, too nebulous to wrestle with. Although I fervently pray that there are no people like the Sqeers around, those who not only exploit children but who delight in hurting them in every conceivable way (Mrs. Squeer is the first character I have ever seen whom I would truly brand as a witch, who ought to be burned at the stake), I'm afraid that is a vain hope. And to be sure, lifeblood-sucking evil as shown by the Uncle Ralph character is certainly alive and well and exists everywhere in our society (our government is composed of people like that).
I need to believe in the existence of people like Nicholas Nickleby, and of the possibilities of individual power, friendship such as he had with the Jamie Bell character, Smike (and if THAT, too, wasn't the most brilliant casting, I don't know what is), familial love as he faithfully retained for his sister and mother, and all the other forms of heart that he displayed with so many of the characters...he was truly inspiring. And fortunately Nicholas wasn't the only good, loving character in the movie...fortunately, there were dozens of them, each of which revealed that humanity wasn't finished yet. And if we can learn from example, neither will we be finished yet.
The film was beautiful and humorous and I couldn't keep my eyes dry for a second. You may think you don't like Dickens...but this could just be the film that changes your mind. See it as a holiday gift to yourself. And marvel at Charlie Hunnam's hands, and Jamie Bell's feet!
One of my favorite lines of his (of many) was, "I'm not an angel, but I will be careful in listing my faults for fear that I would be too persuasive" and the whole time he is saying it, you keep thinking, "But he IS an angel, he really is." This is a character who goes to any length to collect under his protective wings as many deserving lost and wounded people as he can, and in Victorian London, there were tons of them. I find that I don't crave to know somebody like that, but to BE somebody like that. I feel that I am not protecting nearly enough people (actually, I'm really not protecting anybody), but, as compensation, I can at least be thankful that our society provides more safety nets.
But for those movie-goers who aren't as receptive to human goodness as perhaps they ought to be, those who like to see a little evil, this movie will not fail to disappoint...in fact, to me, the evil shown in this movie, which is so very REAL and kept me at the edge of my seat in fearful misery more than anything ever induced by something as ridiculous as the typical horror movie, far outshines the level of evil such as shown in a movie like the "The Lord of the Rings," which is really just a disembodied fantasy, too nebulous to wrestle with. Although I fervently pray that there are no people like the Sqeers around, those who not only exploit children but who delight in hurting them in every conceivable way (Mrs. Squeer is the first character I have ever seen whom I would truly brand as a witch, who ought to be burned at the stake), I'm afraid that is a vain hope. And to be sure, lifeblood-sucking evil as shown by the Uncle Ralph character is certainly alive and well and exists everywhere in our society (our government is composed of people like that).
I need to believe in the existence of people like Nicholas Nickleby, and of the possibilities of individual power, friendship such as he had with the Jamie Bell character, Smike (and if THAT, too, wasn't the most brilliant casting, I don't know what is), familial love as he faithfully retained for his sister and mother, and all the other forms of heart that he displayed with so many of the characters...he was truly inspiring. And fortunately Nicholas wasn't the only good, loving character in the movie...fortunately, there were dozens of them, each of which revealed that humanity wasn't finished yet. And if we can learn from example, neither will we be finished yet.
The film was beautiful and humorous and I couldn't keep my eyes dry for a second. You may think you don't like Dickens...but this could just be the film that changes your mind. See it as a holiday gift to yourself. And marvel at Charlie Hunnam's hands, and Jamie Bell's feet!