The
Golden Compass is
a visually stunning masterpiece of superb acting, set and costume design and
animation artistry. A nearly seamless blend of people, CGI adjusted animals,
elaborate sets and animation magic come together to present the most
entertaining fantasy film yet. Sure to be a successful ‘franchise’, I can’t wait
for the next installment. This is fantasy at its finest. Built upon the story
line of a highly regarded epic of Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials “
trilogy, children’s novels as fascinating as J.K. Rowlings’
Harry Potter,
The Golden Compass
steps in to fill this particular fantasy genre void. There are so many
characters, whose depths cannot be fully expanded in a movie length story; it
all may seem a mashup. Of course, the battles get the most footage. Read the
books, to help flesh out the fine points and tone of each character.
(Another thing, this film includes some very intense moments, possibly not
suitable for the under 8 crowd. As with most fantasy books for young people,
Pullman’s were intended to explore the matters relevant to being young, growing
older, becoming adults. The books have fearsome battles, villains and scary
journeys. One thing to read something...another to see it in living, graphic,
big screen realism. It’s sure you will need to gauge for yourself what age limit
to place on your youngsters, in deciding when they see the film.)
Finally,
the role model for girls has arrived on the big screen. No character
since Dorothy has had the full-blown potential for girls to admire feminine
heroic action, as the lead protagonist. I must qualify. Emma Watson ‘s Hermione
Granger, opposite
Harry Potter, was
singularly impressive, and under-utilized by that franchise. Young newcomer,
Dakota Blue Richards, renders a superlative performance as Lyra Belacqua, the
female protagonist. She is a one-in-a-million casting marvel. Once you’ve seen
Richards’ Lyra, no one else would do. Anyone you ever thought might portray Lyra
pales by comparison. A quite charismatic, and beautiful, child, Richards is an,
eloquent, riveting actor. Hopefully, New Line will get crackin’ on the
next two installments, Harry Potter style, before Richards is too
old to play Lyra.
In 1984,
The Neverending Story surprised everyone, and there followed a slew of films to
repeat its success—without much success. Then along came Harry Potter,
and all the deep pockets learned the potential of a solid set of books as a
basis for a filmic franchise. The Golden Compass
is the first offering of a high-end film with a female child protagonist. New
Line should find that girls are every bit as persuasive as boys in getting
their parents to humor their whims in personal copies of the films, and
purchases of the ancillary marketing goldmine that is the props, costumes and
paraphernalia, a whole other profit center from the films themselves.
This
newest animation style is called ‘performance capture.Sony
Imageworks,
pioneered the technique with The Polar
Express
and
Monster House
and went on to Paramount’s Beowulf.
Imagemotion
is a photo-realistic representation of living characters, set in a fantasy world
where gravity and other such nonsense serve the story teller. Sony likes both
their photo-real and their stylized digital creations. This new generation of
animators hope to breath realism into fantastic landscapes. And not doing a bad
job of it, actually. Along the way from Star Wars to Lord of the
Rings,
these computer artists have been taking notes and building on each others’
works. The Golden
Compass, is New
Line’s brave adventure. It is certainly a first ride for Chris Weitz
(Director), although he managed quite nicely. He wasn’t the first choice for
directing. He wrote the screenplay adaptation. His version of Pullman’s world
does not sugarcoat or soften the ‘reality’ of Pullman’s fantasy world. His
challenge, as with the other major works adapted to the screen, is capturing the
written word, or as many as possible, along with the intention, on film.
Nicole
Kidman gets to play the bad girl, the complex and twisted, and of course
beautiful, Mrs. Coulter. Daniel Craig took time out from his new ride in the
James Bond franchise to be Lord Asriel, Lyra’s ‘uncle’. He will figure more
prominently in the next one. Sam Elliott, as gorgeous as ever, delivers his
usual masterful drawling version of a laconic grifter with his Lee Scorsesby.
Eva Green (Casino Royale) is mesmerizing as the leader of the witches.
Hollywood and London “A” list names are evident in the voice-casting
list as well. Cathy Bates as a road weary jackrabbit with a western twang is
priceless. Ian McKellan lends his baritone voice to Iorek Byrnison, Lyra’s bear
champion, one of the denizens of the North, a far off ice kingdom. All of the
animals, with depth of character well developed beyond our usual anthropomorphic
tendencies, also talk with multifaceted facial expressions only today’s CGI
wizards can draw. Lyra has a personal counterpart, or daemon, Pantalaimon,
voiced by another consummate actor, Freddie Highmore (August
Rush, and in
February, The Spiderwick Chronicles). Highmore has a good deal of miles on him for one so
young. At 15, he has the pixie looks of a ten year old, just as he looked a few
years ago in
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
When
things are scary, Pantalaimon is a mouse, when very scary, he is a little bird
on the wing,
when things are dangerous, he is a wild forest cat, and when things are amiable,
he is a ferret. These animal counterparts add dimension to human characters,
their reflective personalities saving precious movie time. Pullman calls them
aspects of personality. Daemons or no, they are absolutely engaging, and
magnitudes of fun beyond Harvey,
who is still my favorite Pukka. Who wouldn’t want their favorite pets to be able
to talk, share fun and fear, and just plain pal around with you? Everyone in the
cast, whether there is room here to list them or not, acquitted themselves
nicely, delivering singular performances.
Two
salient points, if I may. First, CGI, animation, and editing have brought
fantasy films to a new high. However, for me, the people must be ‘real’. Beowulf
was such a disappointment, and the reason was it didn’t feel right. With The Golden Compass, the reason is apparent...it is alive. It feels alive. The animals are
alive. Yes, they animated their mouths and bodies to match some of the voice
actors’ characteristics, but in the main, they are alive. Animation, for me,
will always be the frosting, but never the cake. I want my protagonists to be
the actors themselves. I want to care whether they live or die, succeed or fail.
Animation alone just doesn’t make me care.
Secondly, the story premise raised concerns with ‘people of faith’. Films are
big when you contrast the effect they have on political correctness, the hues
and cries of minorities. Mind you, the books have been around awhile, as were
the early installments of the Harry Potter series. As with Rowlings’
Harry Potter
steamroller films, these Nay Sayers have more or less subdued their outcry. One
must concede the kids are already reading the books, are familiar with the story
and concepts, and are simply allowed the visual step with these elaborately
filmed versions. Perhaps the concern is for those who don’t read as a pastime
and they should not be tainted with inflammatory philosophies. It is hard to
understand much of the outcry.
We were
sent press releases aplenty for
The Golden Compass.
The most interesting of them, to me, was the acknowledgment by the Bishops of
the Catholic Church—they signed off on the film. Whoa, let’s hear it for
understanding the definition of the word fantasy, let alone free speech and
thought. I don’t recall feeling damaged with my generation’s exposure to
children’s books with odd premises. Sister John Damian read to us every day
after lunch, from ‘Winnie the Pooh’, which hasn’t an adult, let alone
parent, in sight. Published before ‘family values’ became a cliché, this series
presumably is grand fathered in to the bookshelves approved by religion. The
orphaned ones of these newer children’s books are subject to scrutiny of a
different order of magnitude. The Golden Compass is a psychological exploration. Written by an atheist is a
misnomer. Philip Pullman was a proponent of disbelief, more so than atheism,
although he does make a beef with the Church, by implication. As do many,
really. The Golden Compass message, which Pullman
created, was about oppression of populations, torture and experimentation with
people’s lifestyle preferences, propaganda to further disseminate fear, and
governmental agendas unknown to the people. Quite timely—actually. It has the
familiar ring of our own current dilemmas.
In the
main, the young people, and the rest of us, aren’t interested in all that—we’re
on for the ride. The story for this film builds slowly, with kids scrapping in
the streets, and sweeps along with the expected roller coaster effect to a rowdy
climax, and the promise of the next film. Cha Ching. The Golden Compass is a crowd-pleaser. I wish the franchise well.
His
Dark Materials: The Golden Compass - Official Trailer
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wing,
when things are dangerous, he is a wild forest cat, and when things are amiable,
he is a ferret. These animal counterparts add dimension to human characters,
their reflective personalities saving precious movie time. Pullman calls them
aspects of personality. Daemons or no, they are absolutely engaging, and
magnitudes of fun beyond 
Reviews are © Carol Lane Patterson and reprinted with permission.
