Christopher Plummer steals the show without resorting to camp as Nicholas' wounded and wounding Uncle Ralph. It's a great performance and a reminder of Dickens' grandeur. This Cliff's Notes of a film, though lively fun, only hints at that.
75
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
An enjoyable sojourn into the world of Dickens and could inspire a trend. Shakespeare and Austen have had their Hollywood moments during the past few years; why not the proto-Hollywood Dickens?
75
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
Miami HeraldConnie Ogle
McGrath has managed to turn Dickens into a cozy date movie. When was the last time anybody could make that claim?
The director has produced a colorful, affecting collage of Dickensian moods and motifs, a movie that elicits an overwhelming desire to plunge into 900 pages of 19th-century prose.