AdventureDrama

Nicholas Nickleby

- EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO.

Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

Release Date : 2002-12-27

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Hart-Sharp EntertainmentPotboiler ProductionsUnited ArtistsMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Production Country : United KingdomUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Nicholas Nickleby

Original Name : Charlie Hunnam

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vincent Crummles

Original Name : Nathan Lane

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Wackford Squeers

Original Name : Jim Broadbent

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ralph Nickleby

Original Name : Christopher Plummer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Smike

Original Name : Jamie Bell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Madeline Bray

Original Name : Anne Hathaway

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Folair

Original Name : Alan Cumming

Gender : Male

Character Name : Charles Cheeryble

Original Name : Timothy Spall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kate Nickleby

Original Name : Romola Garai

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mr. Nickleby

Original Name : Andrew Havill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs Nickleby

Original Name : Stella Gonet

Gender : Female

Character Name : Boy Nicholas Nickleby

Original Name : Hugh Mitchell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Newman Noggs

Original Name : Tom Courtenay

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Squeers

Original Name : Juliet Stevenson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Maid

Original Name : Lucy Davis

Gender : Female

Character Name : John Browdie

Original Name : Kevin McKidd

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sir Mulberry Hawk

Original Name : Edward Fox

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lord Verisopht

Original Name : Nicholas Rowe

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Pluck

Original Name : Angus Wright

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Crummies/Mr. Leadville

Original Name : Barry Humphries

Gender : Male

Character Name : The Infant Phenomenon

Original Name : Eileen Walsh

Gender : Female

Character Name : Romeo in Play

Original Name : Mark Wells

Gender : Male

Character Name : Juliet in Play

Original Name : Daisy Haggard

Gender : Female

Character Name : Brooker

Original Name : Phil Davis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ned Cheeryble

Original Name : Gerard Horan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frank Cheeryble

Original Name : William Ash

Gender : Male

Character Name : Miss Lacreevy

Original Name : Sophie Thompson

Gender : Female

Character Name : Nigel Bray

Original Name : David Bradley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Mr. Bray

Original Name : Edward Hogg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doctor

Original Name : Roger Ashton-Griffiths

Gender : Male

Character Name : Parent

Original Name : Angela Curran

Gender : Female

Character Name : Little Wackford Squeers

Original Name : Bruce Cook

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-11-04

When his father dies leaving his family not far short of penury, the eponymous young man (Charlie Hunnam) does a deal with his wealthy uncle "Ralph" (Christopher Plummer) that will ensure the comfortable survival of his mother and sister "Kate" (Romola Garai). This deal involves him travelling to the north of England to teach at the school of "Wackford Squeers" (a good effort from Jim Broadbent). Now this is a brutal man who beats and extorts from his pupils and from his factotum "Smike" (Jamie Bell) with abandon. Finally at the end of his tether, young "Nickelby" exacts some punishment of his own and absconds with the young "Smike" to make a life free from this abuse. Meantime his rather unscrupulous uncle is using the young "Kate" as a pawn in his dealings with the predatory "Sir Mulberry Hawk" (Edward Fox). Can her brother return home in time save her from a rather grizzly fate? This is one of Charles Dickens' weaker stories, I found. Once the gritty and darker first half hour or so is over, it falls into a pattern of rather unlikely serendipity. Too many coincidental relationships, friendships and dependencies start to turn it all a bit sour for me. Anne Hathaway adequately provides our hero with some love interest, and as with the brief appearances from Juliet Stevenson as "Mrs. Squeers" and the newly knighted Sir Tom Courtenay as the honourable and decent "Noggs" adds a bit of richness to the story, but handsome though he is, Hunnam hasn't quite the gravitas to take this on nor Plummer quite the dastardliness intended in the original book. It does look good, the costumes and settings all deliver well but somehow I always prefer adaptations of this author's work to be in black and white. Colour seems to overly sanitise his stories of poverty, cruelty and exploitation. It certainly does here.