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December 25, 2005
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
I originally planned to see two films at a theater today, to fulfill my duty as a Jew to Go Forth And Pay Money To Watch Movies On Someone Else's Holiday. Alas, I had a pleasant diversion from that mission - a friend was in town for a few hours on her way to NYC, so I met her for dinner instead. Which led me to seeing one film. And I chose the happy one on my list because I figured (a)not too many kids are taken to the movies on Christmas Eve and (b)I didn't want to watch a political Spielberg romp after seein a friend for the first time in over a year. Alas, even without kids the theater wasn't silent. Why the hell don't people understand that When They Whisper Everyone Is Disturbed?!?!? It drove me frickin nuts and no amount of turning and glaring helped. I suppose it only worsened my own experience.
Well, back to the movie adaptation of one of my favorite childhood books. For some reason, I've never been able to retain all the plot points of the books, despite the fact that I read them several times as a child. I do remember that the Narnia bit started way earlier in the book than the movie.
I'm not sure why It Needed To Be Firmly Anchored To Reality by an extended sequence introducing WWII and the kids' mum to the viewer. But, for some reason, chronicles cannot begin without pointless diversions. I also recall the book spending a lot more time explaining all of Narnia's creatures more thoroughly; or perhaps that was just me re-reading passages because I never read Greek or Roman myths before C.S. Lewis, and I was so enchanted by the whole world.
I did enjoy myself. I agree with A.O. Scott of the NYT that the two hours after Lucy's initial encounter with the wardrobe and Mr. Tumnus, a faun, didn't quite live up to the excitement and wonder of the original transition. I think this is best explained by Ty Burr of the Boston Globe:
Anyway, the true deity in this movie is Peter Jackson. "Chronicles of Narnia" is very much "The Lord of the Rings" rebuilt to PG specifications, which services the box office at the expense of C.S. Lewis. It also cheats the youngest readers of an intense little story of moral ideas. A gracefully subtle metaphor about life's Deep Magic has become a war film; what was a one-chapter battle toward the end of the book is now a ripsnorting Armageddon that looks like something Hieronymus Bosch might dream up after a heavy meal.I miss the fantasy of my youth enough to buy the book that's been calling to me since the Spring - a one volume, paperback version of the entire Chronicles. Heck, it's cheaper than the total cost of my movie watching experience (including popcorn, pop, parking, and a $9.50 admission fee).
More info:
Rotten Tomatoes Entry
Ty Burr in the Boston Globe
A.O. Scott in the NYT
Carina Chocano in the LAT
Roger Ebert (of the Chicago Sun Times) (I thought he was more articulate in his t.v. review than in print.)
IMDB page
Posted by cj at December 25, 2005 12:10 AM