What a disappointment! I only watched it because of the great reviews but I think the writers messed up so much that the story lost its essence. They took away some great charismatic characters of the book such as The Marchioness, the Garlands, Barbara (Kit's real love interest), the children and the people of the last village Nell and her grandfather stay. Also Dick Swiveller is such a complex character who had even the chance to redeem himself in the end and get a new start, but in the movie he's just a pathetic idiot. On the other hand, they gave such an importance to Quilp's wife who does not have much importance or voice throughout the development of the story as she was really submissive with Quilp in the book. All the interaction of the people and specially the children in Nell's final destination was simply cut out and it was such a beautiful moment because she captivated everybody and was finally in peace and happy. In the book, the grandfather was so useless and no help at all, but in the movie he was giving advice on how to proceed during their journey and even survived in the end while in the book he couldn't manage to live alone with all his guilty for her destiny and death. It's a shame that some of the best passages of the book were simply left out and so much new stuff was put in. And why is Nell always wearing the same dress? I know she had no money, but she could have taken at least another dress along when she ran away or even Mrs. Jarley would have given her another one. It just makes it feels like everything happened in such a short time.
Review of The Old Curiosity Shop
