Alternate Best Actor 2020: Dev Patel in The Personal History of David Copperfield

Dev Patel did not receive an Oscar nomination, despite being nominated for a Golden Globe, for portraying the titular character of The Personal History of David Copperfield. 

The Personal History of David Copperfield is a wonderful Dickens adaptation of one of his landmark novels, naturally about the coming of age of a young Englishman.

I must say I always appreciate when an actor turns a corner. Dev Patel has become one such actor. I will say I wasn't particularly impressed for the early portion of his career, where I thought he was an over accentuating actor, to say the least, but it seems with perhaps slightly aging up, and finding a bit more measure in his performances, he's maybe turned that corner. I will say actually that Dev Patel is tasked with a tough challenge in itself which is playing the non-Ebenezer Scrooge, Dickens protagonist who are typically the least interesting characters filled with works of various vibrant characters. Patel here really is surprising, because this isn't even entirely unlike earlier Patel characters, that as the very enthusiastic protagonist, however, here he moderates his work beautifully. This as he has a genuine charisma here that he balances well this in creating the downtrodden but positively inclined David Copperfield, aka the typical Dickens protagonist. Patel is able to capture the essential balance for this kind of role to be everything the role needs to be while also being interesting himself. This as we see early on we get this combination within Patel's work, which is between honest strife but also equally earnest enthusiasm. This in a scene of the adult David lashing out at his cold stepfather, Patel manages to just bluntly and effectively hit the cathartic moment of being fed up with his cruelty, while modulating it just enough that he doesn't come off as too much either. 

There's a real energy here, that again wasn't always my favorite Patel thing before, yet here he uses it so well in making David an entertaining and engaging protagonist. It has to be said Patel just wields it so well and is able to emphasize the good nature of the character that simply feels just right, never too much. I love the moments of as we see him meet up with his extended family including his Aunt (Tilda Swinton) and her cousin Mr. Dick (Hugh Laurie). The enthusiasm Patel brings is truly catching as his smiles just show a young man with only the best intentions as he tries to fend off donkeys or tries to alleviate Mr. Dick's very unusual habit of having his head filled with the thoughts of the late King Charles. Patel is wholly endearing in presenting this really heroic manner in a way that never feels forced or contrived. It rather creates so much of the fun in so many of these moments by making the nature of the man feel so honest. Patel adding to that by how energetic he is once again, and just never really leaves any scene to be ruined. I think the important part here, and why I like Patel so much more here than his earlier eager turns, is he knows when to act out and to be quiet honestly. In his reactions he nicely tempers himself, and brings the right kind of sense of consideration to David carefully taking in the thoughts of others, just as he also takes his personal actions now and again. He makes the Dickens hero work properly as his own man as this kind of facilitator and friend to the eccentrics. 

I think that in itself could only go so far perhaps but Patel nicely reacts within the film and never is truly overshadowed as the usual Dickens protagonist is. This is where it is really quite splendid to see the sense of fun Patel brings to the role as David tries to find his place. The little moments he brings of David imitating the other characters, which Patel excels with every time and grants a bit of a riff to the role that makes him a bit more active in a rather special way. It allows for another kind of angle within his performance that keeps David consistently interesting, and a bit less of a wallflower type so to speak. With this though we also have his journey where he's good in showing the way David is pulled in some wrong directions within the peer pressure of snobs. Patel is good in managing within his reactions to show the frustrations in this. The moments of allowing himself to fall into error, even if he creates still the right shades of sympathy still. This in very much earning lashing out towards the particularly miserable snobs, particularly the obnoxious James Steerforth (perhaps one of the punchable characters of all time) or just the miserable Uriah Heep (Ben Whishaw). Patel's work carries the film very much being part of every scenario. This with that enthusiasm but as much that sort of very specific anger. I especially love the exact delivery of Patel as he quietly yet intensely threatens the creepy Heep after the latter makes some abhorrent suggestions. 

Patel makes the most out of each and every challenge that is of David, which is to go through a lot, with an utmost consistency. Naturally the Dickens protagonist needs to go through a few things. The naturally dueling romantic possibilities. The first in the flighty Dora Spenlow, where Patel brings a genuine warmth though with a specific kind of awkwardness as the two get along yet just don't quite seem to fit. This against his moments with Agnes Wickfield, where is he is the proper comedic fool of creating a natural chemistry while also a proper foolish lack of awareness. This sweetly building their eventual romance, albeit delayed, in their interactions that are wonderfully almost, yet not quite there. The Dickens protagonist must equally go through a combination of advancement while also being a bit downtrodden still. Patel as this active narrating protagonist is just always an endearing one to follow through his journeys. This in that ever infectious energy that he manages to keep consistent throughout the film. And of course you have the Dickens "action" hero which usually consists of running to get someone from somewhere, and confront a corrupt man with some kind of truth. Patel earning these climaxes in showing the boy coming to his own confidence and building to the man now actualized. It seems that Patel has turned a leaf here, as he's just on here, for a lack of a better description. He enlivens every moment of the film all the more, and makes his Copperfield one worth rooting for.