The Personal History of David Copperfield

Armando Iannucci’s terrifically likable, genial adaptation of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield taps into the author’s humanity and optimism, if perhaps at the expense of the novel’s darker side.

Needed to be fresh and fun to justify its existence and it is, often thanks to that scorching ensemble cast.

Dev Patel makes for an energetic lead in Iannucci’s inspired and fast-paced adaptation of a literary classic.

As much as the movie maintains its upbeat and whimsical tone, it falls short of directing that approach to some constructive end.

Iannucci may have softened the bite of his comedy but replaces it with something remarkably optimistic and buoyant, telling a story as joyously relevant as it was a century-and-a-half ago.