REVIEW: The BFG (2016)
The BFG (2016) (PG)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Adapted by: Melissa Mathison
From the book by: Roald Dahl
Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Jemaine Clement, Penelope Wilton
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3691740/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
This year is the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth, which has affected me less than I would have believed as a child when I devoured his books and loved them. I remember Matilda fondly for being a new book that I looked forward to its being published, having read the others and being used to discover books that had been written and published long ago by T. Llew Jones, Louisa M. Alcott and Enid Blyton (girls own, in the form of Lorna Hill and Elinor M. Brent-Dyer would come later, and my mother would introduce me to Jane Shaw and Katherine L. Oldemeadow and others in the interim.) I loved the things that all children love about Dahl, I suppose, the imagination and the nastiness.
However, a well-reviewed adaptation of The BFG by Spielberg, who has made me forgive him for Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull through Lincoln and Bridge of Spies appealed.
The language, an abused and reforged form of English on the lips of Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant is a delight. The CGI is almost wholly convincing, allowing Blake’s iconic style to come alive as a giant walks in a cinematic London and a little girl hides in Giant Country. Yes, there’s a degree of unDahl-like sentimentality (John Williams’s score is the worst culprit and I’d have liked him to dial it down several degrees). It’s as if Spielberg is determined not to forget that this was a story a grandfather made up for his granddaughter. But it is effective. Sophie’s Dream brought a lump to my throat a couple of times.
At the heart of the fantastic tale is a friendship between a lonely orphaned girl (Ruby Barnhill, taking) and a lonely giant, the runt of his kind (the thoroughly marvellous Mark Rylance, whom Spielberg seems to have taken up, quite understandably as he is a brilliant actor). When insomniac Sophie sees the BFG abroad in London one night, he takes her from her orphanage, well, kidnaps her, even though his fellow giants and neighbours, unlike him, are monstrous. In trying to keep Sophie safe, the BFG learns to stand up to bullies where before, he let them get away with their monstrosity.
Spielberg is a master at this and the film is a well-crafted pleasure. The Peter Pan echoes and reversals are interesting (given that Spielberg also made ‘Hook’, which I’m not recommending.) However, I think this the sort of film that would appeal to anyone. A brave woman who had taken a clutch of children to the screening I went to asked them what their favourite part was. “The BFG” and “the farting,” they answered. (My favourite part was the gorgeous Dream Country.)
This entry was originally posted at http://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/133291.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Adapted by: Melissa Mathison
From the book by: Roald Dahl
Starring: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Jemaine Clement, Penelope Wilton
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3691740/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
This year is the centenary of Roald Dahl’s birth, which has affected me less than I would have believed as a child when I devoured his books and loved them. I remember Matilda fondly for being a new book that I looked forward to its being published, having read the others and being used to discover books that had been written and published long ago by T. Llew Jones, Louisa M. Alcott and Enid Blyton (girls own, in the form of Lorna Hill and Elinor M. Brent-Dyer would come later, and my mother would introduce me to Jane Shaw and Katherine L. Oldemeadow and others in the interim.) I loved the things that all children love about Dahl, I suppose, the imagination and the nastiness.
However, a well-reviewed adaptation of The BFG by Spielberg, who has made me forgive him for Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull through Lincoln and Bridge of Spies appealed.
The language, an abused and reforged form of English on the lips of Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant is a delight. The CGI is almost wholly convincing, allowing Blake’s iconic style to come alive as a giant walks in a cinematic London and a little girl hides in Giant Country. Yes, there’s a degree of unDahl-like sentimentality (John Williams’s score is the worst culprit and I’d have liked him to dial it down several degrees). It’s as if Spielberg is determined not to forget that this was a story a grandfather made up for his granddaughter. But it is effective. Sophie’s Dream brought a lump to my throat a couple of times.
At the heart of the fantastic tale is a friendship between a lonely orphaned girl (Ruby Barnhill, taking) and a lonely giant, the runt of his kind (the thoroughly marvellous Mark Rylance, whom Spielberg seems to have taken up, quite understandably as he is a brilliant actor). When insomniac Sophie sees the BFG abroad in London one night, he takes her from her orphanage, well, kidnaps her, even though his fellow giants and neighbours, unlike him, are monstrous. In trying to keep Sophie safe, the BFG learns to stand up to bullies where before, he let them get away with their monstrosity.
Spielberg is a master at this and the film is a well-crafted pleasure. The Peter Pan echoes and reversals are interesting (given that Spielberg also made ‘Hook’, which I’m not recommending.) However, I think this the sort of film that would appeal to anyone. A brave woman who had taken a clutch of children to the screening I went to asked them what their favourite part was. “The BFG” and “the farting,” they answered. (My favourite part was the gorgeous Dream Country.)
This entry was originally posted at http://feather-ghyll.dreamwidth.org/133291.html. Please comment wherever you prefer to.