“The Personal History Of David Copperfield” (**1/2 out of four) was a reverent, lovingly detailed adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1850 classic about a young orphan (Dev Patel) and his various triumphs and tribulations in life as he grows older through the years and meets his wealthy aunt (Tilda Swinton) and other eccentrics (Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw, Aneurin Barnard, and others). Offbeat and entertaining to an extent, as film holds you with its engaging storytelling and narrative, but never quite takes off and soars as it should and thus starts to ring hollow. Patel’s likeable and effortless charisma holds the film together but film’s lack of story holds it back from excelling and really satisfying.