The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
“There is Death in the Camera.� So goes the quote by C. S. Lewis regarding putting books to film. In the case of the latest rendition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I’d like to add, There is sleep in the camera. This rapturously-awaited release from Walden Media doesn’t quite deliver, though the story is followed fairly faithfully and there are some clever lines. But the film leaves one desiring the book, one of the great fantasy stories of Western civilization. C. S. Lewis was an almost incomparable genius of philosophical storytelling; but this film is plodding. And I felt let down.
Weak attempts were made to dramatize the story, a familiar one with tremendous themes: forgiveness, reconciliation, faith, sacrifice, selflessness and heroism are but a few of its deep ideas. And I was hoping this film would breathe new life into them.
But the young actors that play the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve are flat and uninspired. As a cast, they have no chemistry between them. As siblings, aside from having no similar physical characteristics, they don't relate believably at all. The characters are stark and do not grow.
However, the White Witch, played by Tilda Swinton, is one of the bright spots, spooky yet beautiful with her iris-less eyes. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver are a hoot. Mr. Tumnus, played well by James McAvoy, delivers a winning performance also.
Graphically this film is a real treat. Industrial Light and Magic does it again, as it almost invariably does. The scenery and cinematography are breathtaking. (I enjoyed the mountainside castle city near the end.) The snowy woods and spring in Narnia are as I imagined. Battle scenes are well staged, a little intense for smaller children: but no blood. All in all the film follows the book’s storyline. A few additional scenes, which I think may have been added to make the movie more of a technological treat, are exciting and provide the rare moments when the tension reaches a fairly high level.
And for the most part, the movie still works well enough because of our familiarity with the story. But that acquaintance may have actually hindered the performances. Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan are not played as though something significant has happened to them. They seem to move from scene to scene with the rote expectation that “we’ve seen all this before.� (There is more to conveying reconciliation than a lame line delivered with a hug.) I wanted to really be drawn into the wardrobe with them, but instead they watch the movie along with us.
Walden Media has done some great films lately. Unfortunately this film doesn’t do justice to this powerful story. Though The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is worth seeing, I think the film falls short of its marketing.
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