This movie was always going to be something of a disappointment to those (like me) who enjoyed and admired Philip Pullman’s book, and indeed the entire ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy. Nonetheless, from the perspective of a children’s adventure movie, it is a creditable effort.
The religious elements of the book disappear from the movie, though only in name. We never hear the words ‘religion’ or ‘church’ but the connections between the ‘Magisterium’ (itself an explicitly religious term) of the movie and organized religion is obvious enough, from the garb worn by its priests to the iconography on the walls and ceilings. The genesis story is mildly disguised in its telling, but again, anyone over the age of 13 will be able to connect the dots. And it is a terrifying story, as good a critique of modern Christianity as one could hope for: the attempt by the church to sever the connection between children and their souls in order to render them obedient and safe from sin.
The movie also ends before the first book does, so as to finish on a hopeful note after a successful battle, rather than with the tragedy with which Pullman finished that book. That said, I was impressed with the way the movie managed to compress and re-organize the story so as to both fit in the main elements and make sense of an enormously complicated book. The early scenes manage to introduce the main plot elements and characters with great economy. Lyra herself, played by newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, is very good, though a little more of the tomboy would have been better. Nicole Kidman is wasted as Mrs Coulter, but otherwise the cast does its job, Sam Elliott, especially, hamming it up to good effect. After the opening scenes, with their powerful sense of wonder at this alternate/parallel universe to our own, the movie becomes a fairly conventional adventure with battles, hordes of tartars, arrows flying and endless snow.
I’d have liked a more faithful rendition of Pullman’s universe, and the original ending, but this beats the socks off Narnia, both as philosophy and film. I know there are other parents on this blog who have read and enjoyed the book. What think you of the film version?
I am in complete agreement (though I liked Kidman; her icy demeanor worked wonderfully). I’ve been reading this series aloud to my daughter for the greater part of a year (currently we are journeying through the land of the dead), and I too was impressed with the way Weitz and company restructured the novel’s final sequences (I was particularly moved by the film’s final moments given the impending destiny of an integral character; that note of hope is beautifully ambivalent for those in the know). I do wonder if the uninitiated will be completely baffled, and I can quibble as to the way the film distills/truncates the novel’s rich, often dense, narrative. Still, my daughter was transfixed, and my wife, who read the series years ago and has forgotten many of the details, found it perfectly accessible. Sam Elliott, whose character is so important in the second novel, brings a unique element to the film’s alternative universe (and Kathy Bates voicing his daemon, Hester, has a couple of standout moments). Ian McKellan’s Iorek is commanding and gentle and didn’t remind me of Gandalf one bit (nor was I searching for the Coke bottle behind his back). Let’s hope positive word of mouth allows for the sequals to be made. Friday grosses were not promising for those New Line execs searching for a knock out of the park.