ANYONE worrying that director Douglas McGrath might have done horribly modern things to their favourite Dickens doorstopper should rest assured - it's as traditional as the long-vanished Sunday teatime serial.

Rather than going the Baz Luhrmann route and giving it the full anarchic works, complete with up-to-date dialect and lip-synching to 70s disco hits, McGrath is happy to let the powerful tale of compassion versus brutality speak for itself.

Vast chunks of the original book, including several incidental characters, have been abandoned in McGrath's colourful re-telling, but this will surely only rankle with hardcore literary purists.

What we have is a direct and emotional central storyline, told with flare and economy, and a gallery of richly-detailed characters brought to life by a Who's Who of veteran British actors.

The exception, of course, is relative newcomer Charlie Hunnam in the title role. Previously best known for the Channel 4 drama Queer as Folk, his acting range is not exactly Alpine, but he does sincerity and righteous anger - two of our hero's most notable qualities - extremely well. His angelic good looks keep you watching but add to the impression of a character who is almost too good to be true.

Other notable cast members include Jamie Bell as Smike, Nickleby's brave but sickly companion in adversity, Tom Courtenay as the quietly rebellious Newman Noggs and the wonderful Barry Humphries in two roles, including the Edna-esque Mrs Crummles. Jim Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson are also well-matched as Wackford Squeers, the sadistic headmaster of Dotheboys Hall - where Nickleby makes his most dramatic stand against tyranny - and his hardened wife, who takes a grim pleasure in spoon-feeding her young charges brimstone and treacle.

According to McGrath, the inspiration for this film was an old stage production by the RSC. The theatrical roots certainly show - not just in the pantomimish excesses of the Crummles' group of touring players, but in everything from the fairytale cottage that McGrath presents as the scene of Nickleby's idyllic childhood to Christopher Plummer's final tortured soliloquy as the wicked uncle.

Colourful, engaging and well-acted, Nicholas Nickleby is two hours of classic entertainment - in both senses of the word.

Rating: 8/10