‘Nickleby’ captures essence of Dickens novel

In theaters

NICHOLAS NICKLEBY, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, 130 minutes, rated PG. Now showing, Movie City 8, Bangor.

In the early 1980s, just when it was becoming fashionable to believe that gross, unbridled excess was once again good for the soul, the Royal Shakespeare Company outdid itself by running a 91/2-hour stage version of Charles Dickens’ 1839 novel, “Nicholas Nickleby.”

Think about that for a moment – 91/2 hours of poverty-stricken, unhappy Brits scratching and clawing for survival in a sandbox of squalor and despair. Depending on your frame of mind, you would have left the show either suicidal or absolutely buoyant in the knowledge that, hey, maybe your life wasn’t such a train wreck after all.

Now, considering we’re living in leaner times, it seems only fitting that the new screen version of “Nickleby” comes in at a far more reasonable and bladder-friendly 130 minutes.

As directed by Douglas McGrath (“Emma”) from his own script, the film condenses Dickens’ tale of woe and sunshine without losing its spirit, dark humor, vivid characters and themes of good triumphing over evil.

Whole plotlines and scenes have been slashed, but then they had to be, didn’t they? Otherwise, those who did turn out to see the film last Friday, for instance, would likely still be there today- as I’m sorry to hear they are for “Gods and Generals,” which apparently never ends.

For those unfamiliar with the story, “Nicholas Nickleby,” in its most streamlined form, follows the highs and lows (mostly the lows) of 19-year-old Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunan), a young man who, along with his mother and sister, must scramble to recover from the sudden death of the family patriarch.

Leaving Devonshire, the Nicklebys burst upon the London scene like three canaries ready for the coal mine.

In short order, they are sucker punched by the Industrial Revolution, which threatens to suffocate them all in soot if they don’t find work fast, and then by their dear Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer), a vicious beast of a man whose duplicitous offers of help quickly reveal that his enormous wealth has indeed poisoned him beyond repair.

Many adventures ensue – too many, in fact, to list here – but for the most part, they’re fun when they’re meant to be fun, moving when they’re meant to be moving. In other words, the film successfully achieves its purpose: It captures the essence of Dickens without bastardizing his work.

The cast, in particular, is excellent, featuring Jim Broadbent as the evil Wackford Squeers, Juliet Stevenson as his slithering wife, Jamie Bell as Smike, Timothy Spall and Gerard Horan as the Cheeryble twins, and Nathan Lane and Dame Edna herself, Barry Humphries, as Mr. and Mrs. Crummles.

But what gives the film its substantial kick is Plummer’s performance as Uncle Ralph. The actor is so purely wicked and vile, greasing the reels with such bile and venom, what’s ultimately surprising about the movie is that one doesn’t leave it with a full body rash.

Grade: B+

On video and DVD

ROAD TO PERDITION, directed by Sam Mendes, written by David Self, 119 minutes, rated R.

As you might expect, any road that leads to perdition – a pretty word for total damnation – is going to have its share of bumps, twists and turns that dip more often than they lift, and scenic side streets that plunge straight into hell.

Sam Mendes’ stylish, Depression-era drama “Road to Perdition” is a case in point.

Set in 1931 Chicago, the film is a seductive, brooding examination of the sometimes tumultuous, often complex relationships shared between fathers and sons.

It stars Tom Hanks as Michael Sullivan, a mob lieutenant and World War I hero who works for Al Capone through mob chief John Rooney, a father figure to Michael played by the Academy Award-nominated Paul Newman who loves him like a son.

But when Michael’s own 12-year-old son, Michael Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), learns the truth about what his father does, hiding in the back seat of a car and witnessing him murder a man with the help of Rooney’s son, Connor (Daniel Craig), the film takes its inevitable turn as everyone’s life collapses in the sudden loss of Michael Jr.’s innocence.

There’s so much to enjoy in “Road to Perdition,” particularly Jude Law’s performance as a greasy hit man, it’s easy to forgive its ending, which offers no surprise, and its ultimate lack of emotion, which does come as a surprise.

Framed to look like the comic book on which it’s based, the film, which was recently nominated for six Academy Awards, is a smashing example of Hollywood showmanship, a beautifully acted, gorgeous-looking movie shot by the late cinematographer Conrad Hall that follows Mendes’ last film, “American Beauty,” in peeling away and exposing another layer of the American experience.

Grade: A-

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays and Thursdays on WLBZ 2 and WCSH 6, and are archived on RottenTomatoes.com. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.