Cinema Hype

I said recently that Atonement is a movie that works whether you’ve read the novel or not. The same, frankly, can’t really be said for The Golden Compass. Philip Pullman’s story is a weird one, full of the kinds of elements that earn mountains of bad reviews from those going into it cold (”Hey! Let’s have people’s souls take animal form and walk beside them! We’ll call them ‘daemons’! Good idea! Wanna go get a beer?”). It’s the hardest kind of story to adapt, full of tough-to-explain concepts and followed by legions of passionate (and picky) fans. So the studio did what must have made sense at the time: they did the best they could, watered down what didn’t translate easily, and marketed it to people who like The Lord of the Rings. The result is mixed, as they must have known it would be: too outlandish for mainstream critics, too diluted for fans of the book, but strangely entertaining nonetheless.

First off, is it weird to confess that the best character in this movie is a talking polar bear? I am confident that the armored bears featured in the trailers attracted plenty of people to the theaters; I’ve read the book, and I didn’t escape the “Ooh, BEARS!” impulse entirely. Thankfully, Iorek Byrnison, the featured bear (magnificently voiced by Ian McKellen) isn’t just a badass CGI sideshow; he’s actually the best-developed character in the film–a complete story of redemption hidden behind animated fur and some armor. Runner-up in the “Characters to love” category is Sam Elliott as incongruous cowboy/airship captain Lee Scoresby, who isn’t as well-developed but makes up for it with screen presence and a cool jackrabbit daemon. It’s strangely comforting to know that Scoresby will continue to have a major role in the next movie (The Subtle Knife, slated for 2009). Even newcomer Dakota Blue Richards does a good job as heroine Lyra Belacqua; she may eventually enroll in the Emma Watson School of Indignant, Fearless Stares, but for now she’s reasonably natural onscreen and makes a pretty good ruffian.

Less exciting is the use of the big-name cast members: Nicole Kidman is the obvious choice for the coolly villainous Mrs. Coulter, but her performance is surprisingly bland (or-can we be shallow for a moment?–maybe I was just distracted by whatever it is she’s done to her face). Daniel Craig is heavily billed in the trailers, but is mostly a set-up man for the next film–he’s fine, but he’s barely present so far, which kills any chance of building interesting relationships. This is the biggest problem with the movie as a whole, actually: even when the main points are right, there’s a lack of attention to character and relationship that’s troubling. Perhaps that’s what’s missing in Kidman’s performance–she doesn’t have the time to be complex. Similarly, the relationship between Lyra and Iorek goes from “hired gun” (hired paw?) to “lifelong friends” without much in between. The movie’s not that long; an extra two well-used minutes per character could have made all the difference.

That said, it’s an entertaining movie, with plenty of chasing, rescuing, and battling, and it does capture the main points and some of the spirit of the novel. I’ve already mentioned the bears and the cowboy airship captain, not to mention the gypsies (”Gyptians” in the parlance of the movie), the witches, the parallel universes, and the possible debate about the role of free will in government and religion. In that sense, it works–there’s lots to see, and the action moves quickly, which gives the clipped screenplay an extra measure of grace. It’s fun. And it’s just the beginning, as the ending makes abundantly clear. Stay tuned.

The Golden Compass, Golden Compass, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Sam Elliott, Iorek Byrnison, Lyra Belacqua, Phillip Pullman