Verdict: Skimpy, but certainly better than no Dickens at all.

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

You have to wonder when a movie named "Nicholas Nickleby" is less about Nicholas than it is about his nasty Uncle Ralph.

Actually, you have to wonder about a lot of things in Douglas McGrath's spritely, semi-satisfying adaptation of Charles Dickens' sprawling 19th-century novel. In order to whittle it down to a fast and furious two hours — a brilliant version by the Royal Shakespeare Company in the early '80s famously ran almost nine hours — McGrath has had to jettison hordes of characters and entire plots. The movie still works, yet it's hard not to be bothered by precious time lavished on throwaway bits like Alan Cumming's much-thwarted Highland fling. (I'll explain later.)

Nineteen-year-old Nicholas (Charlie Hunnam), the son of a recently deceased country gentleman, must now take care of his mother and his sister Kate (Romola Garai). He takes them to London to seek help from his Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer), a wealthy speculator who decorates his home with dead animals. Ralph sends Nicholas off to teach at a boarding school run by the sadistic Wackford Squeers (a one-eyed Jim Broadbent) and his even crueler wife (Juliet Stevenson). Meanwhile, back in London, Kate is used as bait for her uncle's lecherous clients (notably, Edward Fox, who positively drips with lewdness).

Nicholas eventually leaves, taking with him a crippled orphan, Smike ("Billy Elliot's" Jamie Bell), who's been abused by the Squeerses ever since he was a child. En route, they run into a rollicking theatrical troupe — here's where Cumming comes in — run by Mr. and Mrs. Crummles (a hammy Nathan Lane and famous drag queen Dame Edna Everage, a joke that doesn't work). They spend about 14 minutes there, then it's off to London, to confront Nicholas' uncle and reunite his family.

For the most part, the movie is good fun. How could it not be with all these scrumptious actors? (Not to mention Tom Courtenay, Timothy Spall and Anne Hathaway.) However, the considerable simplification works against it, compromising Dickens and turning the story into a matter of Good People vs. Bad People. Or, perhaps, healthy youth vs. corrupt age.

Still, the real trouble is that there's no leading man. Hunnam ("Abandon") is nice-looking and has a good voice, but otherwise he's a total blank. That leaves a vacuum, which Plummer obligingly fills. He makes malice and selfishness doubly disturbing by deploying them in such a straightforward way. To hear him say of his nephew, "I shall strike him until he can be struck no more," reminds you how little we get to see this powerful actor onscreen.

"Nicholas Nickleby" is pretty and pleasant, and Rachel Portman's wonderful score makes up for a lot. But it's a Cliffs Notes version. If you really want a taste of this classic, rent the video of the RSC production. But if you're only looking for a charming time passer, this movie is just the thing.