More of a Major Oddity, I'd Say
This weekend's review: The Old Curiosity Shop.
I was drawn to The Old Curiosity Shop primarily because it was a period piece, and to a lesser extent because I was intrigued by the title (as a devotee of thrift stores). I wasn’t sure what to expect from the story, but the title made me think it would revolve around the shop. Not only was I wrong on that score, the movie on the whole wasn’t very enjoyable.
The story revolves around an old man known only as Grandfather (Derek Jacobi), who owns the titular shop (which I think is an antique shop, though we never actually see anybody in it, so who knows). He also has a granddaughter, Nell (Sophie Vavasseur), who is the single most important thing in his life. Unfortunately, he also has a gambling habit, and has squandered most of his wealth, forcing him to borrow money from the very nasty Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones). Quilp likes the look of Nell, and forces a deal with Grandfather that if he doesn’t pay back double what he owes by a certain deadline, then Quilp will seize all of Grandfather’s assets. When Grandfather inevitably can’t pay, Quilp offers a second deal; he won’t steal Grandfather’s shop and livelihood…if Nell comes to work for Quilp as a servant. Knowing what Quilp is really after, Grandfather and Nell flee the shop in the dead of night and try to start anew elsewhere. Quilp, not wanting this to be a stain on his credibility, pursues them, putting a bounty on their heads for good measure. There’s also another man (Adrian Rawlins) in pursuit of the pair, for unclear reasons (but ones you can probably figure out fairly quickly). It’s hard to say for most of the runtime who’s the biggest enemy here; Quilp, the stranger, or Grandfather’s gambling addiction.
The summary I just wrote above covers the basic overarching plot, but I feel like I just scratched the surface, because there are plenty of other characters involved in one form or another. You’ve got a corrupt lawyer and his sister (Adam Godley and Gina McKee) in Quilp’s pocket, a layabout named Dick Swiveller (Geoffrey Breton), a young friend and former worker at the curiosity shop named Kit (George MacKay), and some colorful characters that Nell and Grandfather run into on the road, including a post-The Office, pre-Sherlock Martin Freeman. While all of them are involved in the main story of Nell and Grandfather fleeing Quilp, there are times when that plot gets shunted aside for other material, particularly a subplot involving the lawyers, Dick, and Kit. On the one hand, I’m impressed that the movie managed to get all of this out in an hour and a half while keeping everything from getting too convoluted. On the other, it helps contribute to my major problem with the movie.
Simply put, almost every major player in the story is a jerk. Quilp is obviously meant to be one, and in that respect Toby Jones does an excellent job in making him unlikeable and unsettling by turns. But the impact is lost when he has to compete with the lawyers, Dick, and others. Furthermore, Grandfather keeps giving into temptation and gambling, making things worse for himself and Nell, so it’s hard to sympathize with him either. While he does feel awful for doing it and we’re probably supposed to pity him because he’s in the grip of addiction, the fact that his actions are adversely affecting Nell keep me from rooting for him. Really, the only two characters who escape unscathed are Nell and Kit, with a few supporting characters also managing to be decent people. A cynic could say this is just showing the world as it really is, but I don’t tend to subscribe to that philosophy, and therefore get very frustrated that I’m spending time with so many unpleasant people.
Another problem I have, especially as we near the end of the movie, is trying to figure out exactly how much time passes in this movie. Nell and Grandfather encounter one of the colorful characters on what appears to be a nice sunny day, with lots of green leaves on the trees. It therefore stands to reason that it’s probably summer. They spend a little time with this character, then are forced to leave, and context clues suggest that they weren’t around for very long. The next time we see them, it’s pouring rain, which could mean we’ve entered autumn, but it could just as easily still be summer. Then we cut away for a subplot, which probably happens over the course of a day, and when we cut back to Nell, it’s snowing outside. It feels like time is moving way too quickly, which is jarring. And given that some of the changes in weather seem to exist solely to create some plot drama, it makes me suspect that Admiral Plot Device got hold of a weather machine.
As always, there is some good to be found. The music is well done, helping to sell the emotions of the scenes. Similarly, there’s some great atmosphere, especially in the opening scenes (you half expect Jack the Ripper to show up). And there’s just enough levity, courtesy of those colorful characters, in the movie to keep the entire thing from feeling too grim and depressing. However, this isn’t enough to overcome the negative aspects, especially when you get to the ending, which is sheer pathos and melodrama of the highest order. Though a check of Wikipedia reveals it’s actually even worse in the original story, so I suppose I should count my blessings.
I definitely don’t recommend this movie. While I didn’t have a completely awful time watching it (mostly by virtue of the good things I mentioned above), the ending in particular completely soured me against the movie and made it feel like it hadn’t been worth watching. Stick to other stories inspired by Charles Dickens; Oliver! may be overlong and sometimes ridiculous, but at least there’s a better balance of good and evil there. At the very least, most of the bad guys are more entertaining to watch.
I was drawn to The Old Curiosity Shop primarily because it was a period piece, and to a lesser extent because I was intrigued by the title (as a devotee of thrift stores). I wasn’t sure what to expect from the story, but the title made me think it would revolve around the shop. Not only was I wrong on that score, the movie on the whole wasn’t very enjoyable.
The story revolves around an old man known only as Grandfather (Derek Jacobi), who owns the titular shop (which I think is an antique shop, though we never actually see anybody in it, so who knows). He also has a granddaughter, Nell (Sophie Vavasseur), who is the single most important thing in his life. Unfortunately, he also has a gambling habit, and has squandered most of his wealth, forcing him to borrow money from the very nasty Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones). Quilp likes the look of Nell, and forces a deal with Grandfather that if he doesn’t pay back double what he owes by a certain deadline, then Quilp will seize all of Grandfather’s assets. When Grandfather inevitably can’t pay, Quilp offers a second deal; he won’t steal Grandfather’s shop and livelihood…if Nell comes to work for Quilp as a servant. Knowing what Quilp is really after, Grandfather and Nell flee the shop in the dead of night and try to start anew elsewhere. Quilp, not wanting this to be a stain on his credibility, pursues them, putting a bounty on their heads for good measure. There’s also another man (Adrian Rawlins) in pursuit of the pair, for unclear reasons (but ones you can probably figure out fairly quickly). It’s hard to say for most of the runtime who’s the biggest enemy here; Quilp, the stranger, or Grandfather’s gambling addiction.
The summary I just wrote above covers the basic overarching plot, but I feel like I just scratched the surface, because there are plenty of other characters involved in one form or another. You’ve got a corrupt lawyer and his sister (Adam Godley and Gina McKee) in Quilp’s pocket, a layabout named Dick Swiveller (Geoffrey Breton), a young friend and former worker at the curiosity shop named Kit (George MacKay), and some colorful characters that Nell and Grandfather run into on the road, including a post-The Office, pre-Sherlock Martin Freeman. While all of them are involved in the main story of Nell and Grandfather fleeing Quilp, there are times when that plot gets shunted aside for other material, particularly a subplot involving the lawyers, Dick, and Kit. On the one hand, I’m impressed that the movie managed to get all of this out in an hour and a half while keeping everything from getting too convoluted. On the other, it helps contribute to my major problem with the movie.
Simply put, almost every major player in the story is a jerk. Quilp is obviously meant to be one, and in that respect Toby Jones does an excellent job in making him unlikeable and unsettling by turns. But the impact is lost when he has to compete with the lawyers, Dick, and others. Furthermore, Grandfather keeps giving into temptation and gambling, making things worse for himself and Nell, so it’s hard to sympathize with him either. While he does feel awful for doing it and we’re probably supposed to pity him because he’s in the grip of addiction, the fact that his actions are adversely affecting Nell keep me from rooting for him. Really, the only two characters who escape unscathed are Nell and Kit, with a few supporting characters also managing to be decent people. A cynic could say this is just showing the world as it really is, but I don’t tend to subscribe to that philosophy, and therefore get very frustrated that I’m spending time with so many unpleasant people.
Another problem I have, especially as we near the end of the movie, is trying to figure out exactly how much time passes in this movie. Nell and Grandfather encounter one of the colorful characters on what appears to be a nice sunny day, with lots of green leaves on the trees. It therefore stands to reason that it’s probably summer. They spend a little time with this character, then are forced to leave, and context clues suggest that they weren’t around for very long. The next time we see them, it’s pouring rain, which could mean we’ve entered autumn, but it could just as easily still be summer. Then we cut away for a subplot, which probably happens over the course of a day, and when we cut back to Nell, it’s snowing outside. It feels like time is moving way too quickly, which is jarring. And given that some of the changes in weather seem to exist solely to create some plot drama, it makes me suspect that Admiral Plot Device got hold of a weather machine.
As always, there is some good to be found. The music is well done, helping to sell the emotions of the scenes. Similarly, there’s some great atmosphere, especially in the opening scenes (you half expect Jack the Ripper to show up). And there’s just enough levity, courtesy of those colorful characters, in the movie to keep the entire thing from feeling too grim and depressing. However, this isn’t enough to overcome the negative aspects, especially when you get to the ending, which is sheer pathos and melodrama of the highest order. Though a check of Wikipedia reveals it’s actually even worse in the original story, so I suppose I should count my blessings.
I definitely don’t recommend this movie. While I didn’t have a completely awful time watching it (mostly by virtue of the good things I mentioned above), the ending in particular completely soured me against the movie and made it feel like it hadn’t been worth watching. Stick to other stories inspired by Charles Dickens; Oliver! may be overlong and sometimes ridiculous, but at least there’s a better balance of good and evil there. At the very least, most of the bad guys are more entertaining to watch.