Nicholas Nickleby

From previous encounters with adaptations of Charles Dickens's novels, I know that the British approach his literary legacy with the respect that is owed to a national classic. They usually spare no expense and engage famous names in the leading roles at the very least. Those are exactly the strengths of Nicholas Nickleby. However, there are some difficulties with the other aspects. Dickens wrote his novel in the 1830s. Although it falls into the better part of the contemporary production, it was not an innovative work, even within the author's oeuvre it is at best average. The simple moralistic story with traditional social themes has significantly black-and-white characters and is woefully predictable. The first third has a certain insight, provided mainly by the well-crafted family of the owner of the rural school. The second third is saved by the theatrical ensemble, but with the increasing minutes, the insight disappears and the film is dominated by naivety and sentiment. In the last third, I was cringing during some of the dialogues. Today we have higher education and culture has undergone a long development, so we are accustomed to more complex characters and more credible motivations. Perhaps this film needed to be less slavishly faithful to the spirit of the original work, as even a small shift would have been to its benefit. Overall impression: 45%. (24/01/2021)