The Blog of Lone

I’ve got to say as a fan of the Pullman books I was really looking forward to this film, that’s why the review may be a little harsh in its criticism - but sometimes the truth hurts.  Review also available (as are they all) at Heilum.com under Nicholas Cockayne.

The Golden Compass, based on ‘Northern Lights’, the first book of Philip Pullman’s trilogy, His Dark Materials, has all the elements needed to make a great film, but somehow it never quite delivers.  Star performances, astounding visuals, high action, evil adversaries.  It’s all there, but somehow the film feels a little hollow and heartless.

The film follows the adventures of Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) as she follows her destiny from the dusty corridors of Jordan College to the frozen tundra of the North in search of her kidnapped friend Roger.  Along the way she inadvertently picks up an army of Gyptian sailors, another of beautiful witches, a drawling American aeronaught, and a massive armoured bear.  Dogging her steps is the full force of the dark and tyrannical institute of the Magisterium, a glacially frosty Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman), and one terrifying golden monkey; all hell bent on taking the eponymous golden compass off her hands because it’s really a truth gauge.  Oh, and it’s all set in a world where people’s souls walk around with them in the form of talking animals called daemons.  Don’t worry, it’s really not as confusing as it sounds.

If there is blame to be placed for the flatness of the film, it certainly cannot fall upon the actors.  The actors all give convincing performances, whether it be the feisty young Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, or the rugged Daniel Craig who puts in a great turn as her eccentric scientist of an uncle.  The only possible criticism is that the actors are very type cast: frosty Kidman treats us to glares that leave you shivering, and Sam Elliot relaxes into his southern drawl as laid back aeronaught Lee Scoresby.  Christopher Lee is even thrown in for a brief role, seemingly just to lend menace to the Magisterium council.  Even the spectacle of Ian McKellen’s voice coming from the savage armoured bear Iorek Byrnison is only disturbing until you get used to it.

Visually the film is spectacular, almost seamlessly incorporating CG daemons into every scene, and the armoured bears really are something to behold.  There is plenty of eye candy to enthral  younger audiences, but for older viewers this still fails to make up for the films main failing.

What relegates the Golden Compass to the bin of average fantasy films, when with a little effort it could so easily have been great, is the decisions made by screen writer and director Chris Weitz.  Here, I feel, the buck stops and the blame lands.

Firstly it is important to know that at one point Weitz resigned as director, was replaced, and then rehired.  He also rejected the famous playwright Tom Stoppard’s script in favour of adapting the book himself.  So, basically, he brought it on himself.

Where Pullman’s books appeal to young and old alike is in the combination of solid likeable characters and philosophical undertones that make you actually think about what is being related to you; something which the film utterly lacks.  Weitz’s plot feels so rushed that there is little time for any character development, creating a distance between characters and audience that leaves you watching the film, not engaging with it. 

Likewise the speed of the film allows for plenty of action, but never explains WHY any of it is happening; the philosophical aspects of the books are almost totally ignored (there may have been a single one line reference) and we’re left with a weak explanation that it’s all got something to do with particles of Dust.  Considering the main themes of book on which the film is based are religion, God, and free will, Weitz’s decision to cut any mention of these from the film is pretty gutless, and will no doubt leave a lot of fans of Pullman fuming.

This sense of rushing to throw spectacular action at the audience at the cost of reason is no where better demonstrated than in the battle scene with the Tartars.  A mass of children escape from a Magistrium building and are faced with a bleak snow field.  Illogically, from nowhere appears a fierce army of Tartars.  And then an armoured bear.  And then an army of witches.  And an army of Gyptians.  All, apparently, without any of the others (or the audience) having seen them appraoch.  It’s certainly shocking to watch, but there’s a little bit of your brain that’s screaming “but where did they all appear from?”

Likewise where the book melds elements that appeal to all age groups seamlessly, Weitz really doesn’t seem to know exactly who he’s making this film for.  Despite plenty of battle scenes and deaths, the film is Disneylike in its pristine lack of blood or gore.  Even when two huge polar bears are biting and clawing one another not a single drop of the red stuff stains their glossy fur.  Here the film seems to be aiming for a low age rating so that more younger viewers can enjoy it.  But then one bear rips off the other’s lower jaw and tosses it across the ice in a manner that would suggest a higher age rating for the film.  Shocked?  I certainly was.  Yet even this pretty macabre sight is rendered without any blood.  Yes, that’s right, half a polar bear’s head is ripped off, but bloodlessly.

This is the film’s failing.  Despite star actors, visual splendours, and great source material, Weitz tries to cram all the action of the book into the film with none of its reason or heart; all while seemingly in two minds as to what he is really aiming towards.  The result is a film that could have been great, but instead merely entertains.  This just goes to show the effect a bad director can have on a potentially wonderful film

3/5 Badgers

I promised a review of Stardust a little while ago, and here it is.  Never let it be said I don’t deliver on my promises.

Stardust is the story of Tristan Thorne’s quest to bring back a star for his lady love Victoria in order to win her hand in marriage.  Unfortunately for him the falling star in question happens to have fallen across the Wall, in the fairytale land of Stormhold, a fantastical place where unicorns roam, witches stalk, and cross dressing flying pirate captains mince wildly.  Yes, that’s right, Stormhold is a unpredictable land which throws up many obstacles in Tristan’s path, not least of which is the fact the star is not simply a lump of cold rock, but a living person, and one in a bad temper at that, Yvaine.  So begins a story in which Tristan is to find his true love in the least expected of places, inherit his true birthright, fight witches, learn swordplay, get a make over from a pirate captain, and (oddly enough) grow long proper adventurous looking hair (well adventurous hair extensions anyway).

As so often happens when a film is based on a book I love (and I love none more than Neil Gaimen’s books) I was truly apprehensive about how it would turn out; there is nothing worse than watching what is not only a bad film, but a bad film that ruins a good book too.  Happily this is not the case with Stardust.

Boasting an all star cast, if you look closely even the background characters are all stars of film, tv, or comedy, the acting in this film was never going to be at fault.  In fact it can at times become a game of spot the celebrity, competing with friends to see how can recognise the most stars beneath the make up. 

In the lead role Charlie Cox plays a convincing Tristan, managing to be likeable, wide eyed, and determined in all the right places, and seems to be genuinely having fun with his role which really comes across.  The excellent Claire Danes as Yvaine is exquisitely pouty, argumentative, and heart melting, a difficult combination demanded by the role, but one she manages to deliver with definite style.  It’s impossible not to mention Michelle Pfeiffer as the utterly evil witch Lamia, who puts in a great and enthusiastic performance that rarely spills over into self parody.  To be honest I’m not a fan of Pfeiffer’s work, but she manages to steal almost every scene she’s in with just her immense screen presence.

Likewise putting in a grand and memorable performance is De Niro as Captain Shakespeare, a flying pirate with a violent reputation who is secretly a closet cross dresser and Anglophile.  Despite being initially ridiculous this character actually grows beyond a characature thanks to De Niro’s acting skills, and serves as an important tool in developing the character of Tristan under his guidance.

In short this film does deliver everything it promises to: fantastical characters and creatures, adventure, humour, romance, - but there are a few niggling aspects that left me wanting more.

The only real failing of the film, which I’m not sure you can even count as a failing, is how far it errs from the book on which it is based.  All the dark edge and violence that marks Gaimen’s fairytale for adults is lost in the screen adaption, consequently the film is almost permanently light hearted, something that means some scenes lose a certain potential gravitas.  Whereas Gaimen’s ending had a reconcilliation of sorts between Lamia and Yvaine that stops the moral of the story ever being simple, the film loses this for a sickeningly sugary sweet hollywood ending that fails to impress.  Likewise unable to believe audiences could stomach seeing the main characters die, even happily at a ripe old age, the screen writers instead choose to have Tristran and Yvaine transported to the stars instead.  But these are perhaps inevitable given the films desire for a young audience and wide spread box office appeal.

While fans of Gaimen shouldn’t expect to see the novel made film when they watch Stardust, they can expect an enjoyable adventure that will have them leaving the cinema with an amused smile on their faces.

When I was first told about this film I was pretty dubious over whether I would like it or not; romantic spy films aren’t normally my cup of tea.  But I can safely say that this film totally blew all my expectations out of the water. 

Director Paul Verhoeven does a terrific and often unrelenting job keeping the audience immersed in the film, whether it be in the pomp and splendour of a Nazi party or in the brutal murder of Jews fleeing for the border, Verhoeven pulls no punches and offers the audience no opportunity to distance themselves comfortably from all that goes happens on screen.  From the horrific injuries of someone being shot in the head to the heroine giving herself to the head of the Gestapo in the name of the Resistance, the audience is right there with the characters, totally involved in it all.  Normally seeing a film 145 minutes in length, by the end of the second hour I’d be hoping for the ending, but Black Book held me riveted throughout, and I was still wanting more as I left the cinema.

This is never a comfortable or easy watch, but the cast throw themselves wholeheartedly into their roles, with Carice van Houten as Rachel and Thom Hoffman as Hans Akkermans in particular shining in a more than able cast.  Carice deserves a special mention as the captivating Rachel/Ellis, her performance surely launching her into more big mainstream films in the future.

This film is highly recommended.

 

The Lone - Peace out