Customer Reviews

Nicholas Nickleby

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Charles Dickens- love him or hate him, you must admit that there was never anyone like him. His books are full of social critiques, melodramatic romances, characters so eccentric that they border on crazy and of course jaw dropping coincidences. The books are also wildly entertaining.

There has been a revival of Dickens lately in the form of TV mini-series and Nicholas Nickleby is the latest. The title character has just lost his father in death and now, in his late teens, he must find a way to support and protect his sweet sister Kate and somewhat silly mother. Their only relative is their uncle, the greedy and cold Ralph Nickleby.

Ralph gets Nicholas a job as a teacher in Yorkshire and Kate a job assisting a dressmaker. Here is where the main problems of the story come into play. Both Kate and Nicholas have the same problems, they are too good looking and talented. That may seem like no problem but they have no money and their equals in station are jealous of them. Also, they have to fend off unwelcome advances at every turn. The young actors playing Kate and Nicholas manage to make their characters good without being saccarine, a challenge to say the least.

The Yorkshire school where Nicholas is sent is a horror, the boys are abused particularly the silent waif Smike. Nicholas befriends Smike and then protects him from a beating. Forced to escape with Smike, Nicholas is disowned by his uncle for being ungrateful. He is told that if he sees his sister and mother again, Ralph will throw them into the street. Nicholas agrees to leave but swears vengeance if Kate or his mother suffer in any way at Ralph's hands.

This is pretty much how the movie goes, more and more problems come up and the characters escape by the skin of their teeth. The rivalry between Nicholas and Ralph is very well acted and one of the highlights of this miniseries.

Dickens purists will doubtlessly complain about the many cuts that had to be made due to time constraints but they were needed for the film to run smoothly. All in all, this is a very good adaptation that does not modernize the tale too much. (This has been a problem in far too many adaptions of the classics, over-modernization)

There are abductions, rescues, duels, chases, forced marriages, and one BIG suprise ending. (no Dickens novel is complete without a murder/attempted murder, a suicide and a suprise ending)

If you are looking for an old fashioned soaper, this is it. I could not reccommend it for children since some of the abuses at the school are rather disturbing. However, this is how things were in the worse schools in Dickens's time and it is rather an eye-opener. I would say in American ratings, this movie ranges from a PG to a PG-13 so parents will have to make their decisions accordingly.

By in large, most of Charles Dickens' novels are dark, melancholy, and morbid. But the majority of them have an uplifting ending, and main characters above reproach. "Nicholas Nickleby" is one of his lesser-known volumes, falling to the back of the line in favor of "A Tale of Two Cities" and "David Copperfield." But it's also one of my personal favorites. Thus said, this Bravo adaptation follows it very closely... but I disliked intensely many of the scriptwriter's own "inventions" in dealing with the text. What bleeds through is a strong sexual undercurrent not present in the novel, as well as the defacing of several minor characters who made complete turnarounds in the novel by means of redeeming themselves.

The plot in novel form never comes across as being lecherous, even when dealing with Madeline Bray and the seventy-year-old swindler who wants to marry her for her money. Seeing him ogle her on the screen is much more disconcerting, as are the obvious sexual illusions, innuendo, and activity portrayed. Mr. and Mrs. Mantalini are all over each other, Mr. and Mrs. Squeers are constantly trading innuendo on jumping into bed at the earliest opportunity, and Sir Mulberry Hawke's advances toward Nicholas' sister Kate are much more lurid and offensive than in the book... like when he corners her against the pool table, puts his hand down her blouse, and then tries to force himself on her.

The acting is quite good, but the offensive elements for me weighed out the fact that this adaptation tries to be faithful to the text. It seems very cold and shallow without any great character development and the climax turns out slightly flat. I would encourage viewers to see the excellent 2002 adaptation by Douglas McGrath, which is all around more faithful to the spirit of Dickens, much less visually offensive, and far better produced.

The DVD is fair. The menu is nice, but includes virtually no extras except a photo gallery and menu selection. Since this was produced for TV, there's nothing glowing about the actual production itself. The darkness is slightly grainy, and some closeups seem a bit fuzzy.

I just finished watching this on the BRAVO network and can't wait to get the DVD so that I could watch it again (and again)!

This is an excellent adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic with high production values and a superb cast. Some of the highlights are: Charles Dance as greedy and cruel Ralph Nickleby who makes his nephew Nicholas' life miserable; Sophia Myles is enchanting as Kate Nickleby; Ian (?) Ingleby as the tragic Smike, Nicholas' loyal friend; Dominic West as the devilish and cold-hearted Sir Mulberry Hawk; and particularly James D'Arcy as Nicholas, who plays the role with such passion and earnestness (lanky and handsome, with piercing green eyes and a striking resemblance to a young Ralph Fiennes - he certainly is a heartthrob in his own right).

I thoroughly enjoyed this miniseries, which was shown in 2 parts on tv. I don't know if this is a BBC production but it certainly has the qualities of one. The sets and costumes are excellent and I found myself very much involved with the story and characters. Highly recommended!

As of this writing I do not have the DVD, but I just watched this version on the Canadian Broadcast Company network, and I must say that I was thoroughly impressed. The casting, the costumes, the 'out of the book' quotes. They have truly accurately portrayed the Victorian era in all its splendor and wretchedness. There's not any bad that I can say about this movie. Ok, there IS one thing: the ending is narrated rather than played out. They could have easily made this one more half hour longer to put it over the top. The Scrooge-like uncle is played to perfection, so well, in fact, that one finds they'd probably rather be with old Ebenezer than Uncle Ralph. That's just one of the variety of characters that you would expect to see in a Dickens novel/movie. There are many more, of course (besides Nicholas Nickleby, who is quite the wallflower compared to nearly everyone else in the story).
When this movie is released on DVD shortly (by the time this is being read, it should already be available), you can bet I will spend my hard earned cash to purchase it!

Postscript: I now own the DVD and it is EXCELLENT! The picture quality is so much brighter and clearer than the broadcast version. And best of all, it's in the LETTER BOX format! Truly even better than I thought it would be!

James D'arcy is perfectly cast in the title role as Nicholas Nickleby, a young, well-meaning but penniless gentleman who tries to earn an honest living to support his loving mother and sister who are dependent on him. First, he accepts a position as a teacher at a Yorkshire boarding school, not realising the horror that awaits him at the school run by the cruel Mr Squeers. When he could no longer endure the cruelty and atrocity inflicted by Squeers on the young children, he runs away from the school, followed by a boy (Smike) who has long suffered abuse and gross mistreatment at the hands of Squeers. Both Nicholas and Smike quickly become inseparable, loyal friends. By a strange chance, they go on to become actors at a small theatre run by the Crummles family. After being long separated from his mother and sister, Nicholas later leaves the theatre and makes a hasty return home to save his sister from a sinister plot cooked up by his evil uncle, Ralph Nickleby (played by Charles Dance). Ralph is a rich, old miser with a heart of stone who hates Nicholas intensely (mainly because he is jealous of Nicholas's youth and goodness of heart).

James D'arcy's "Nicholas" is endearing and wonderful to watch. If you are a female viewer, you will be most pleasantly surprised (and awed) by his uncommon good looks. He is so strikingly handsome and will make you swoon! He reminds me of a young Ralph Fiennes (the eyes and upper part of the face) and Ethan Hawke (the lower part of the face).

The beautiful Sophia Myles is also well cast as Nicholas's sister, Kate, a sweet and wholesome-looking girl who has to fend off unwanted male attentions wherever she goes.

The many supporting characters (queer, eccentric folks, all) help spice up the plot and inject much humour into the story. Most notably, the Squeers family (an incredibly obnoxious and hateful family), the Mantalinis (a lovey-dovey couple who runs a fashion house; but they fight a lot too), the Crummles family (who owns the theatre), the generous Cheeryble twin brothers, Newman Noggs (Ralph Nickleby's reluctant assistant) and Arthur Gride (a hideous-looking and repulsive old man who plots to marry the beautiful Madeline Bray who also happens to be the object of Nicholas's affection). My only complaint is that the actress who plays Madeline Bray has too much make-up on (her face is too thickly powdered and it shows because you see that her neck is tan). Also, the scarlet red lipstick is unsuitable for her character who is supposed to be a simple, poor girl who would not have the time, money nor inclination to buy or use make-up!

I feel this adaptation does good to leave out some of the minor characters from Dicken's novel because they do not serve the plot much, such as the large Kenwigs family and the madman who lives next door to Mrs Nickleby (Nicholas's mother). Otherwise, this production would be another hour long, at least.

I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation and would recommend it to all fans of high quality period drama.

One of Dickens' most ludicrous, exaggerated, and enjoyable works, Nicholas Nickleby is a very entertaining watch. We bought this movie before we had seen it just because we liked the story so well, and hey, how bad could it be?

When the story begins, the good looking young man Nicholas Nickleby's father has just died and left his wife, son (Nicholas), and daughter on their own. Luckily their uncle has money, unluckily he seems unwilling to help them. He does manage to find young Nickleby a horrible job at a cruel boarding school, where Nicholas meets up with the bedgraggled, beaten, and neglected Smike, a young boy about his age.

His sister gets a job at a dressmaking shop. When jealous colleagues get her fired, old Ralph Nickleby, the uncle, has something worse in store for her. Nicholas is not there to help her, for he is conviently banished from London by his uncle for quitting his job at the school and defending Smike. Ralph Nickleby acquaints her with some horrid and vicious young admirers, gentlemen by status, but in no means by definition.

Anyway, this is Dickens - there are hilarious parts, sad parts, and rediculous (but delightful) coincidences. Do not miss this one!

I've just seen this movie on Bravo. I don't own the dvd but I have every intention of getting it. I've read Nicholas Nickleby at least a dozen times and each time the story is well told. Even while watching it on Bravo, I felt a lump come into my throat for the sister and brother and anger rise up at the uncle and yes, even at the stupidity of the mother. When a movie can still draw you in like that (even when you know what to expect) then it is truly a superb movie with truly excellent acting. This is absolutely a keeper.

This latest version of Dickens's wonderful Nicholas Nickleby is yet another in a line of excellent BBC produced dramatizations of classics; something Hollywood rarely if ever does these days because "art" doesn't sell! All I can say is "Thank God for television!"

Everything about this adaptation speaks of excellence. The casting in particular is a joy. James D'Arcy is the finest Nicholas on screen. He is a "Candide"-like figure; total believable and you want to root for him just as Dickens wanted his readers to sympathize with the protagonist. Charles Dance is equally effective as Nicholas's villainous uncle. But it doesn't end with the two leads. Every single character (and there are a lot of them) is cast perfectly and totally believable from a physical standpoint; from the lowest street people to the wealthy upper class. There's not a dud in the lot! The casting director should be knighted!

The direction is fluid and unflinching as it examines the seedier sides of the story. Pairing down the story to three hours is done with excellent comprehension. Those parts of the story missing are inevitably not missed for a dramatic presentation. The art direction is exquisite throughout. Costumes, sets and locations are brilliantly handled.

I'll also take exception to those who prefer the Royal Shakespeare version. That production was a noble effort to bring the story to the live theater and in many respects it was original and excellent. It suffers, however, from a forced stage theatricality inherent in such projects and simply gets bogged down with too much detail. The result is way too long. The new version sacrifices some length for clarity and precision story telling and has better casting in every role.

I have no hesitation in finding the entire production to be delightful; and by all means go out and buy it.

21st century television audiences should appreciate this adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel "Nicholas Nickleby." This adaptation keeps many of the major points of plot while not creating characters who are too much of caricatures. Of course, this means that that many characters either (1) receive very little screen time or (2) have been transformed from figures of comedy to more serious figures.

Clearly, this adaptation has some positives over competing adaptations. I will address the two most well-known color adaptations: the 1977 BBC and the 2002 MGM.

Positives over the 1977 BBC:

- The 1977 adaptation at 325 minutes does tell the story in the manner most representative of Charles Dickens' intent. However, because Dickens wrote "Nicholas Nickleby" for serial publication just after writing "Oliver Twist," Dickens characters were still very much the comic figures. However, for a modern audience, watching an adaptation like the 1977 might be too much for some people to tolerate. (It reminds one of "Alice in Wonderland" because eccentricity abounds in the 1977 adaptation.)

In contrast, this 2001 adaptation will tell the story much more like it were an Anthony Trollope novel (especially "He Knew He Was Right" or "The Way We Live Now") rather than an early Dickens work.

Positives over the 2002 MGM:

- The 2002 adaptation is not sufficient. It leaves out far too many important scenes. Also, there are scenes I just cannot understand at all because they just do not make any sense, except for comic relief. I understand that plot loyalty to an 800 page novel cannot be easily achieved in 130 minutes, but I cannot help thinking that the scriptwriters and producers could have done better. I do not recommend the 2002 adaptation. I think Christopher Plummer (who plays Ralph Nickleby) knew the film was trash and played his part half-heartedly.



In short:

- I recommend this 2001 adaptation to those who want the "Nicholas Nickleby" story without Charles Dickens' eccentricity and outrageously insane comedy (200 minutes).

- For true loyalists to Charles Dickens, I recommend the 1977 BBC adaptation (325 minutes).


PS: One may watch this 2001 adaptation (for free) on a particular internet video site that commences with the letter 'y' as 12-29-2009.

James D"Arcy has to be the best young actor around. He showed such a range of emotions from sad to ferocious anger and I forgot that it was only a miniseries I was watching because I felt as if I were in the room. Three cheers for the whole cast. I have to buy this so that I can see it again and again.