Timothy Spall’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Nicholas Nickleby has landed a new UK streaming home. The period drama was released in 2002, and sees the actor appear as part of a star-studded ensemble, which includes Charlie Hunnam as the titular character alongside Nathan Lane and Jim Broadbent.
Viewers in the UK can now catch it on streaming, with the film added to Prime Video recently.
Nicholas Nickleby follows the young protagonist after his family is left destitute following the death of their patriarch, and he ends up at a school run by a cruel headmaster.
There, he breaks free with new friend Spike and reunites with his family – though must defend his sister from the terrifying advances of a menacing suitor.
Spall takes on the role of Charles Cheeryble, while the movie also features Oscar-winner actors Christopher Plummer and Anne Hathaway, All of Us Strangers’ Jamie Bell, The Traitors US’s Alan Cumming, 45 Years’ Tom Courtenay and Bend It Like Beckham’s Juliet Stevenson.
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The film sits at an impressive 79% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 126 reviews, with the Miami Herald calling it a “terrific adaptation with a delightful cast and a speedy pace that defies belief, considering its lengthy source”.
The Boston Globe further labelled it a “rambunctious joy”, while New York Magazine/Vulture praised its “bravura storytelling”.
“Above all other pleasures it offers, it provides a classic of literature and social criticism with a straight run-through from start to finish. Believe me, not stopping on the way is the best way to board Dickens,” added the London Evening Standard.
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Meanwhile, Cinema Crazed opined that it is “an absolutely entertaining, well acted, and well-directed film adaptation”.
If you want to catch even more Spall, then his 2021 drama The Last Bus is also streaming now on Prime Video. The movie follows a widower who travels the length of the UK on a free bus pass to scatter his later partner’s ashes.
Nicholas Nickleby is streaming now on Prime Video.
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Â Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ as a sub-editor.