David Copperfield's Story - A Different View of Victorian England

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

We waited! The film "The Story of David Copperfield" will be released in Russia in online cinemas on September 17, 2020. The painting is based on the novel by Charles Dickens. Let's dive into the vibrant Victorian London and discover how the film was made.

From the mouth of the creators

“The creation of The David Copperfield Story was a very ambitious creative endeavor,” acknowledges production designer Christina Casali. - I thought that my most ambitious project would be the painting "The Death of Stalin", which, incidentally, was such until then. Here, the shooting was complicated by the fact that we spent a lot of time on the road."

One of the biggest challenges was recreating the Victorian era in three completely different sets. According to Casali, the scenes in London should have turned out "crowded and dirty", in Dover - more "coastal", and in Canterbury - "very aristocratic."

A painstaking search across England has identified upcoming filming locations, including various locations in London. Scouts have revisited many large-scale venues, including the town of Bury St Edmunds, the City Market and the Suffolk District.

“We've built a real inn,” says Kasali of the historic set. “Offering food and lodging for travelers and their horses, these establishments were an integral part of the land transportation system. We were amazed at how important the inns were until the railways supplanted them.”

In the village of Walsingham in Norfolk County, location managers found a colorful house, which they turned into a house in the slum where David was once born.

"This is a hot, but at the same time very warm and beautiful place," - describes the location of Kasali. The slums contrasted favorably with what David would face in the next phase of his life. He goes to work in "terrible, crowded and cruel" London in a shoe polish factory. These scenes were filmed at a pumping station in Woppin, east London.

Casali says this unusual approach to recreating chic Victorian costumes is part of the director's vision.

“Most of the time, the image of David Copperfield is rather dark and contrasting,” says the production designer of the work of costume designers Susie Harman and Robert Worley. “Armando, on the other hand, presented a lively and beautiful story, saturated with a variety of colorful characters. We did a great job on the color palette of the costumes of each character, even in the slightest degree involved in the film. Armando wanted to create something that would not fit into the concept of a traditional film adaptation of Dickens' book.

Plot

The Story of David Copperfield is told on behalf of David himself. It starts in Victorian England, in a mansion called The Nest. The main character, the son of Clara (Morfidd Clark), is born with the help of the benevolent housekeeper Peggotty (Daisy Mae Cooper) and the eccentric aunt Betsy Trotwood (Tilda Swinton).

The early years of David's life are filled with happiness and serenity. Until one day, Edward Murdstone (Darren Boyd) appears on the threshold of their house, who has his eyes on Clara. And David is sent to "stay" with the Peggotty family in Yarmouth, in their unusual home - an overturned schooner pulled ashore. He spends his carefree summer with his brother Peggotty Daniel (Paul Whitehouse) and his adopted children Ham (Anthony Wales) and Emily (Aimee Kelly).

Back home, David discovers that his mother is married to Edward Murdstone. This rude man and his terrifying sister Jane (Gwendoline Christie) don't get along very well. Even less Murdstone, his sister gets along with David, so the boy is expelled from the house to the Murdstone shoe polish factory in London, where the salary is scanty and the working conditions are inhuman. His only delight is the shelter of Mr. Micawber (Peter Capaldi) and his family. He, although limited in means, does not lose cordiality and kindness towards the boy.

A few years later, Murdstone and Jane arrive in London and dryly inform David about the death of their mother. Heartbroken, the guy escapes from the factory to his aunt Betsy Trotwood, who lives with her strange distant relative, Mr. Dick (Hugh Laurie). David meets Mr. Wickfield (Benedict Wong), who advises Aunt Betsy on financial matters, and his daughter Agnes (Rosalind Elizar). With the help of Wickfield, David enters Mrs. Strong's school in Canterbury.

There he meets classmate James Steerforth (Anairin Barnard), who is filled with sympathy for him, and the sticky character Uriah Gipom (Ben Whishaw), the son of a washerwoman who washes students' sheets. After leaving school, David falls in love with the daughter of his future employer, Dora Spenlow (Morfidd Clarke). Returning to London, he becomes an attorney for Spenlow & Jorkins.

Fascinated by Dora, David tries to propose to her, but the news that Aunt Betsy and Mister Dick are coming to visit them forces him to postpone a significant step. Betsy Trotwood is broke and forced to live with David.

David tries to borrow from Wickfield, but Uriah, who is now a partner in his company, refuses the loan. David, Betsy and Mr. Dick move into a small apartment. To distract himself, David introduces Steerforth to Peggotty and her family.

They still live in the inverted schooner where David once spent his summer. Ham and Emily are engaged and are saving money for their wedding. Soon Emily falls in love with Steerforth and, since the feelings are mutual, secretly flees with her lover to France.

David returns to London and proposes to Dora, despite the fact that he is tormented by doubts about the correctness of his decision. He encounters the Micawber family, who now have to live on the street.

Mr. Dick helps them by snatching Mr. Micawber's accordion from the pawnshop. Faced with Peggotty, David learns that Ham and Daniel are looking for Emily across the country. Meanwhile, Agnes realizes that Uriah Gip is doing dark deeds in order to leave Wickfield out of work.

It is revealed that Uriah Gip stole Betsy Trotwood's money and embezzled Wicklow's funds by forging documents. In a fit of rage, David throws himself at Uriah with his fists. Soon there is Emily, who was abandoned by Steerforth.

Emily had a falling out with Steerforth's mother. She longs for news from her son, who set sail in a violent storm and must arrive in Yarmouth by ship. Unfortunately, Steerforth's ship runs aground, Steerforth dies at sea in front of Copperfield and his comrades.

Some time after the tragedy, David and his friends gather in the garden for a party. Having recorded and published the story of his adventures, David becomes a popular writer. He finally takes the power over his destiny into his own hands.

The film "The Story of David Copperfield" can be watched in online cinemas from September 17, 2020. Enjoy your immersion in the romance of London in the company of amazing actors! Are you waiting for a picture?