Nicholas Nickleby Backdrop Blur
Nicholas Nickleby Poster

Nicholas Nickleby

"EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO."

Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

Top Cast

  • Charlie Hunnam

    Charlie Hunnam

    Nicholas Nickleby

  • Nathan Lane

    Nathan Lane

    Vincent Crummles

  • Jim Broadbent

    Jim Broadbent

    Mr. Wackford Squeers

  • Christopher Plummer

    Christopher Plummer

    Ralph Nickleby

  • Jamie Bell

    Jamie Bell

    Smike

  • Anne Hathaway

    Anne Hathaway

    Madeline Bray

  • Alan Cumming

    Alan Cumming

    Mr. Folair

  • Timothy Spall

    Timothy Spall

    Charles Cheeryble

  • Romola Garai

    Romola Garai

    Kate Nickleby

Overview

Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.

Rating

6.9 / 10
195 Reviews
2 Popular

1 Reviews

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    6 Nov 4, 2022

    When his father dies leaving his family not far short of penury, the eponymous young man (Charlie Hunnam) does a deal with his wealthy uncle "Ralph" (Christopher Plummer) that will ensure the comfortable survival of his mother and sister "Kate" (Romola Garai). This deal involves him travelling to the north of England to teach at the school of "Wackford Squeers" (a good effort from Jim Broadbent). Now this is a brutal man who beats and extorts from his pupils and from his factotum "Smike" (Jamie Bell) with abandon. Finally at the end of his tether, young "Nickelby" exacts some punishment of his own and absconds with the young "Smike" to make a life free from this abuse. Meantime his rather unscrupulous uncle is using the young "Kate" as a pawn in his dealings with the predatory "Sir Mulberry Hawk" (Edward Fox). Can her brother return home in time save her from a rather grizzly fate? This is one of Charles Dickens' weaker stories, I found. Once the gritty and darker first half hour or so is over, it falls into a pattern of rather unlikely serendipity. Too many coincidental relationships, friendships and dependencies start to turn it all a bit sour for me. Anne Hathaway adequately provides our hero with some love interest, and as with the brief appearances from Juliet Stevenson as "Mrs. Squeers" and the newly knighted Sir Tom Courtenay as the honourable and decent "Noggs" adds a bit of richness to the story, but handsome though he is, Hunnam hasn't quite the gravitas to take this on nor Plummer quite the dastardliness intended in the original book. It does look good, the costumes and settings all deliver well but somehow I always prefer adaptations of this author's work to be in black and white. Colour seems to overly sanitise his stories of poverty, cruelty and exploitation. It certainly does here.

Trailers & Clips

Recommendations

SlugTerra: Return of the Elementals

A new member has joined Eli and the Shane Gang! Junjie, once the protector of the Eastern Caverns, is a master of the slugslinging art of Slug Fu! But even with the power of five slingers, the Shane Gang find themselves in over their heads as they race across The 99 Caverns in search of the Legendary Elemental Slugs. The five Elementals are ancient slugs of great power, and the forbearers of all slugs found in SlugTerra today. In the wrong hands, they could bring Slugterra to the brink of destruction. So when an evil alliance starts hunting down the Elementals, Eli and his friends — old and new — take off in pursuit of the greatest threat their world has ever faced!

SlugTerra: Return of the Elementals

7.0 2014