Grandfather (Derek Jacobi, I, Claudius) adores young and innocent Nell (Sophie Vavasseur, Northanger Abbey), and is determined to provide her with a secure future — but at what cost? As Grandfather routinely dispatches her from the Old Curiosity Shop to secure funds, he meanwhile is gambling away the money under the cover of night. Desperation forces Grandfather into a reckless deal with the menacing moneylender Quilp (Toby Jones, Frost/Nixon). When their money and luck run out, Nell summons her courage and encourages Grandfather that they should both flee too. Pursued by a variety of shadowy characters including a quiet man with mysterious intentions, Nell and Grandfather are forced to beg in order to survive. Will they be rescued before Grandfather’s gambling habit ruins them or Quilp catches up? Gina McKee (The Forsyte Saga) also stars in one of Charles Dickens’s most heartrending tales.
Arriving in the wake of the BBC’s sweeping Little Dorrit, ITV’s The Old Curiosity Shop feels like Dickens lite (in the U.S., both productions aired as part of PBS’s Masterpiece Classic). Fourteen-year-old Nell Trent (Becoming Jane’s Sophie Vavasseur), one of the author’s best-loved creations, lives with Grandfather (Derek Jacobi), a compulsive gambler. When he fails to make good on his debts to the gluttonous Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones), the moneylender takes over his shop and threatens to make Nell his servant, so she and Grandfather flee to the Midlands. Back in London, Quilp conspires with Dick Swiveller (Geoff Breton), a naive associate of Nell’s brother, who also hopes to benefit from their return. With a price on their heads, the duo accepts help from kind strangers, like Mrs. Jarley (a delightful Zoë Wanamaker), and dodges predatory characters, like puppeteer Mr. Codlin (The Office’s Martin Freeman). With the entrance of the mysterious Jacob (Adrian Rawlins), the story shifts into procedural territory. Jacob has the means to help the fugitives, but he’ll have to catch up with them before poverty takes its toll. If Jacobi and Jones bring the requisite intensity to their parts, Vavasseur struggles to make Nell sufficiently empathetic, and a narrative that tries to do too much in too little time robs the ending of its intended impact. Filmed on location in atmospheric Ireland, this downbeat version of The Old Curiosity Shop is hardly a waste of time, but a more expansive interpretation would’ve served this material better. –Kathleen C. Fennessy
Starring Derek Jacobi, Toby Jones, Sophie Vavasseur, Gina McKee, Adam Godley.
Shown on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.
Note: The events of the book seem to take place around 1825.
May be suitable for older children.