Nicholas Nickleby

"EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO."

2002 2h 12m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🍅

78%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 204🍅78%Rotten Tomatoes●71Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 14,813

AdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO.”

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Cast

Charlie Hunnam
Nicholas Nickleby
Nathan Lane
Vincent Crummles
Jim Broadbent
Mr. Wackford Squeers
Christopher Plummer
Ralph Nickleby
Jamie Bell
Smike
Anne Hathaway
Madeline Bray
Alan Cumming
Mr. Folair
Timothy Spall
Charles Cheeryble

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Douglas McGrath
Writers: Douglas McGrath
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 37% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Douglas McGrath, shot by Dick Pope. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lesley Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlie Hunnam and Nathan Lane and Jim Broadbent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Douglas McGrath directs. Dick Pope behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. Lesley Walker cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 37% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 24 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Douglas McGrath, shot by Dick Pope. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Lesley Walker shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlie Hunnam and Nathan Lane and Jim Broadbent carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "EVERY FAMILY NEEDS A HERO.".
9IMDB entry: tt0309912 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "based on novel or book", "greed", "liverpool, england", "wealth".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dick Pope
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: Lesley Walker
Production design: Eve Stewart
Costume design: Ruth Myers
Makeup / hair: Graham Pownall
Sound: Steve Single
Stunt coordinator: Gareth Milne
Runtime: 132 min · 2h 12m
Status: Released
Budget: $10,000,000
Box office: $3,651,462
Return: 37% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Nicholas Nickleby (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes: 78% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 71/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 14,813 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 win & 5 nominations total

Also by

Douglas McGrath

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-04
★ 6/10
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.

Production companies