We saw two movies about British fantasy this week: We saw The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (the title is almost as long as the movie) at the theatre, and saw Finding Neverland on cable.
The Narnia movie was well-done, but kind of left me cold. Unlike, say, the first Harry Potter movie, or the Lord of the Rings movies, it didn't leave me with a burning desire to consume the Narnia books (and we have a box set in the house). I am glad that they updated the kids' dialogue from the books -- the film may be set in the 40's, but it would still be hard to buy the kids saying, "Oh, do tell us about it!"
Also, the scene where Santa (excuse me, Father Christmas) shows up feels even weirder than it did when that part of the book was read to me as a kid -- particularly since he functions partly like Galadriel in LOTR and partly like Q in the James Bond movies, supplying the kids with their own deadly weapons.
Finding Neverland was soft-focus and certainly sugar-coated, but it was a delight to see. I have a soft spot for movies where audiences are overcome with the power of theatre. One of my favorite scenes in Shakespeare in Love is the one where the audience sees Romeo and Juliet performed for the very first time -- and sits in wide-eyed silence afterward, too overcome even to applaud. Julie Christie has a scene very much like that in this movie.
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