Nicholas Nickleby (DVD, 2008, Canadian)

This Dickens story has become my favorite. And Douglas McGrath, the director and screenwriter, has made it so beautful that this DVD is one of my favorites too. And the cast is loaded with famous stars playing very good and very bad characters.

It is a David Copperfield type of story. Nicholas Nickleby's father dies and leaves the family penniless in the early 1800s England. Only 19, Nicholas Jr. (Charlie Hannan), his sister Kate (Romola Garai, who is now in "Atonement"), and their mother are forced to travel to London to seek help from their uncle Ralph Nickleby (Christopher Plummer), a sort of financial planner of that day. He "helps" Nicholas by finding him employment as a teacher in a notorious boys school. He "helps" Kate by introducing her to his lecherous clients who needless to say won't leave her alone.

At the Dotheboy School for Boys, we are introduced to Wackford Squeers (Jim Broadbent), the headmaster who abuses the boys terribly and to a major character, Smike (Jamie Bell), one of the abused boys who is handicapped and has become the janitor and gatekeeper of the school. When Squeers finally whips Smike mercilessly, Nicholas takes matters into his own hands, and the two escape.

With no money, Nicholas and Smike end up as actors in a troupe run by Vincent Crummles (Nathan Lane) and his wife (Dame Edna/Barry Humphries). But then they are called to London when his sister has reached her limit with the lecherous clients.

Eventually, Nicholas meets Madeline Bray (Anne Hathaway), a beautiful girl taking care of her gambler father. She becomes his soulmate.

Dickens theme to this story is memorable too: Our family is not necessarily whom we share our bloodline with but whom we would let our blood flow to protect.

This story has many more memorable characters that you need to meet on your own. It is never a dull ride through the 2-1/8 hours of the movie.

There are also special features that tell how the cast was chosen and how the sets were found.