Miss Murdstone: But not at all too strong for the situation. Miss Murdstone: Of all the boys in the world, this is the worst boy. 7.Murdstone: This boy, you should know, Miss Trotwood, has a sullen, rebellious spirit, a violent temper and an intractable disposition. On the whole, despite the major flaws, this is a decent adaptation of Dickens's novel. He played him with real demeanour, but he wasn't given enough screen time to shine properly. As fine an actor as Peter Woodthorpe is, I sadly found him forgettable as Creakle, no matter how hard he tried. I felt that Michael Richards overacted as Mr Micawber, and Sally Field was as another reviewer rightly said not English enough, and I found her screams of 'Don-keee' unintentionally funny. (I will admit I was confused with what was happening in the first scene) The other flaws I am afraid are to do with some of the casting. The plot, suffering from the deviations from the book, is choppy and even confusing. However, there are flaws with this adaptation that made it inferior to the 1999 adaptation. Edward Hardwicke and Freddie Jones also give great turns, and Julie Cox and Emily Hamilton are lovely as Dora and Agnes. I have to say that Frank McCusker played him marvellously. And Uriah Heep is a real villain, really slimy and snakelike. Antony Andrews is suitably nasty as Mr Murdstone and Eileen Atkins turns in a solid performance as Jane. Hugh Dancy especially was perfect as adult David, and while I found Daniel Radcliife absolutely adorable in the 1999 adaptation, Max Doleby was believable as the younger half of the character. The performances in general were very good, save one or two exceptions.

The script is mostly good with a lot of Dickens elements in it,and there are many memorable scenes like the whipping of young David. The music is beautiful, and it was delight especially to hear Mendelssohn's Octet playing as background music in one scene. The adaptation looks amazing, with lavish costumes, lovely camera work in general(though the last ten minutes were unfocused) splendid scenery and realistic-looking sets. Now I admit I haven't read the book for a while, but I do remember that the 1999 adaptation was more faithful. This 2000 adaptation is inferior, but in my opinion it is good on its own merits. The 1999 adaptation was absolutely sublime, you cannot do better than Ian McKellan, Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins all of whom did brilliantly in their roles.

David koperfild tregimi