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 The "Lion" and "Slumdog Millionaire" actor, born in London to
Indian parents, plays the lead, a role he did not think would
come his way, he said at the movie's opening of the BFI London
Film Festival on Wednesday evening.
"It’s incredible to watch this film," Patel said.
"I never thought I would ever have a film like this where I get
to be in period Victorian costume ... It’s a wonderful
opportunity and I hope it continues to open doors and it sends a
message to the rest of the industry to be as bold as Mr Iannucci."
The film begins with Copperfield, a writer, taking audiences
back to the start of his life, with his widowed mother giving
birth to him, supported by doting housekeeper Peggotty.
While his early years are filled with love, all changes when his
mother remarries the brutal Mr Murdstone and the young
Copperfield is sent to work in a London factory.
He encounters hardships and kindness as he seeks to find a place
for himself in society, all the time noting down the expressions
of people he meets on bits of paper.
At a press screening earlier on Wednesday, writer-director
Iannucci described Dickens' book as "cinematic and funny and
experimental."
"It felt very modern," he said. "It also speaks of these sort of
contemporary issues and I just want to get that life and that
humour and approach it maybe as if there were no rules as to how
you make a costume drama."
The story tackles homelessness, debt, Britain's class system and
mental illness but Iannucci peppers it with laugh-out-loud
moments.
"I wanted ... the audience (to) feel that the people they're
watching up there are in their present day," Iannucci said.
The cast includes Tilda Swinton as Copperfield's donkey-hating
aunt Betsey Trotwood, "Howards End" actress Rosalind Eleazar as
his friend Agnes and "Doctor Strange" actor Benedict Wong as her
father Mr Wickfield.
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Creditor-evading Mr Micawber is played by "Doctor Who" actor Peter
Capaldi while "Game of Thrones" actress Gwendoline Christie portrays
the cold Jane Murdstone. Ben Whishaw plays the obsequious villain
Uriah Heep and "House" star Hugh Laurie portrays Mr Dick.
"I had no plan B. Dev was instantly the person I thought of,"
Iannucci said, later adding: "I just wanted to choose the best
people who were most suited for the part, I didn’t want to feel any
kind of historical restrictions."
CELEBRATORY FILM
Patel said he first thought the film was about another David
Copperfield.
"I was that guy that had totally missed this glorious piece of
literature in my childhood," he said. "I thought he was the
illusionist when I went to the meeting ... obviously that changed
very quickly."
Iannucci is known for political TV comedies "The Thick Of It" and "Veep"
and dark satirical movie "The Death of Stalin."
"There's so much of a debate at the moment about what Britain is and
what Britain is not and how it's excluding and how it's isolating
itself," he said.
"I wanted to celebrate what I feel Britain is, which is something
much more lively and vibrant and cheery - the comedy heritage, the
literary heritage, the variety, the arts."
Though smaller than Cannes and Venice, the London festival has its
own share of red carpet glamour. This year's screenings include
Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman" and the mediaeval coming-of-age
tale "The King" starring Timothee Chalamet.
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Hanna Rantala in London;
Editing by Gareth Jones and Matthew Lewis)
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