Gyptians and Daemons and Bears, Oh My!
Written: Dec 06 '07 (Updated Jan 12 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Special effects, Costumes, Cinematography, Dakota Blue Richards and Nicole Kidman
Cons: Some story elements seem disconnected
The Bottom Line: It was an incredible cinematic achievement, but some of the complexity of the source material was lost.
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| DavidK93's Full Review: The Golden Compass |
By a stroke of luck, passes to a free Tuesday preview showing of The Golden Compass became available through Lambda Sci-Fi, an organisation of gay and lesbian sci-fi and fantasy enthusiasts in Washington, DC. I had seen previews and commercials for the film, and it looked really good, so I was quite excited about the opportunity. I made the trip down to DC after work and met up with some of the LSF people at the theatre. As I was walking from the Gallery Place Metro station, more than 90 minutes before the 7:30 pm showing, I heard voices behind me. A woman was pointing out the theatre's location to her male companion, and then I looked back and saw that they had the same printed pass I did. Then the woman said, "I almost feel like I should start running right now." This sparked some mad passion inside me, and my only thought was, "Oh, no! This man and woman could run in front of me and beat me to the theatre! What if they get the last two seats?! This cannot happen!" And so I broke and ran to the theatre as fast as my little feet would carry me. Tons of people did end up in the line, and I'm sure that not everyone who showed up got in, but that cutoff came quite a bit later.
The Golden Compass is the story of Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards, a first-time actress at age 12), an orphan who lives at the prestigious Jordan College, which is located in the England of an alternate universe. (More on that later.) She is under the nominal care of her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig [Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Casino Royale]), but he is a great adventurer and explorer and is rarely at Jordan. She longs to join him on one of his adventures in "The North," but the opportunity only comes when she is invited to accompany the enigmatic and charismatic Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman [Far and Away, Moulin Rouge!]) on an expedition. Before leaving Jordan, she is entrusted with an alethiometer, an ancient device used for the divination of truth, and the only known example still in existence. Miss Coulter is not what she seems, and Lyra is soon propelled into a world-spanning adventure replete with seafaring gypsies, skyborne witches, frozen wastelands, a nefarious organisation, airships, mercenaries, and the strength of one girl's spirit.
The Golden Compass is based on a novel that was published under the same title in the US, but was originally published as Northern Lights in the UK in 1995. It is the first in a trilogy entitled His Dark Materials, written by Philip Pullman, and films based on the subsequent two novels are likely to follow if this film is a success. (And, boy, does this movie not beat around the bush when it comes to setting up the sequel!) This is a rare occasion in which I saw a film based on a novel without having first read the novel. But I plan to read it and its sequels posthaste. I think it would give me a bit more understanding of the complex world that Pullman has brought into existence. The movie didn't invest a lot of time in explaining the "rules" of this parallel Earth. In fact, one of the only divergences from "our" Earth that was really explained was the existence of daemons. A daemon is a person's soul, and it takes physical form as an animal in this world. A child's daemon may change its form at will or whim, but the daemon of an adult will have "settled" into a permanent form. A person and his or her daemon share an empathic bond; if a person is killed, his or her daemon dissipates. A person and his or her daemon also share physical pain experienced by one another, and a person can be incapacitated by attacking his or her daemon. In addition, daemons can talk. However, I don't recall ever seeing a daemon talk to anyone other than the person to whom it belonged.
Other aspects of this world are left unexplained, a valid concession to time constraints; it just wouldn't have been practical to devote a lot of screen time to exposition, as the film is relatively fast-paced. The fact that the action takes place in a parallel universe fits the movie rather firmly into the realm of science fiction. The existence of corporeal daemons tends to push the fantasy envelope. However, the only concrete evidence of the existence of magic in this world is the presence of witches, who are fearsome, flying archers. Their abilities, beyond flying, are not explored, nor are the means by which one becomes a witch. Daemons, in contrast, are approached from a consistently scientific viewpoint. The arctic archipelago of Svalbard (a real place in our world) is inhabited by sapient polar bears, but again there's nothing truly magical about that. There is a mysterious entity called Dust, which takes the form of particulate matter that apparently can only be found at the planet's magnetic poles. There are also particle physicists, as mentioned by Mrs. Coulter. The overall level of technology in Lyra's world is somewhat dichotomous; widespread utility technology, like international travel, long-distance communication, and weaponry, appear comparable to the World War II era in our world, while more inventive pieces of technology, lacking analogues in our world, seem roughly contemporary or even slightly futuristic. However, the technology has a distinctive steampunk feel. In a classic steampunk move, zeppelins have taken the place of airplanes. Other pieces of equipment possess springs and gears, while microchips and wires are nowhere to be seen. Some vehicles were mounted on gyroscopes containing a suspended blob of light, but the operation of this mechanism was not discussed.
The existence and nature of certain organisations is not detailed as thoroughly as I might have liked, but again I recognise that it might have detracted from the narrative flow. There exists in this world something called the Magisterium. I understand from discussion of the original novel that this organisation is meant to be an analogue to the Catholic Church. However, in the movie, I didn't feel that it really came across that way. It seemed, instead, to be governmental in nature, except that it wasn't clear if its influence extended across the world, or only northern Europe. A hint, though, that the Magisterium is not an absolute authority comes in the fact that Jordan College is apparently free to decline the Magisterium's demands. If the Magisterium is not the government of England, then the latter is not specified. In the absence of contradicting information, it could be supposed that it remains a monarchy, and then Asriel's title of "Lord" would refer to the English peerage. Finally, the parallel world's Gyptians are equivalent to our Gypsies in terms of their culture and dress, but they are seafarers. And while our Gypsies, more properly called the Roma people, are most prevalent in eastern Europe, the Gyptians appear to be relatively numerous in England. They have a king, John Faa (Jim Carter [Shakespeare in Love, The Madness of King George]), so it's not clear if they are subject to the rule of the English monarch, assuming one exists.
Lyra is the central character of the film. She is intelligent, resourceful, and courageous. We see in an early scene that Lyra can speak very persuasively, and this is a trait that becomes important again later. She doesn't hesitate to confront opponents more powerful than herself. She is loyal as well, stopping at nothing to fulfil an obligation to her best friend. Her daemon is Pan (which is short for a longer name), and he has not yet settled; he often takes the form of a cat or ermine. Dakota Blue Richards is an excellent find. She exhibits a brashness and self-confidence that are perfect for the role. There's this intelligent yet untamed look in her eyes as well. I'm amazed that this is her first acting role.
Mrs. Coulter is beautiful and quite used to getting her own way. She commands great respect and also undeniable fear in some. Under her polished exterior lies a quiet menace and a frightening streak of cruelty. Her daemon is a primate that is golden in colour. The particular species of primate is never specified, but I thought it might have been a gibbon. The daemon is prone to fits of sudden violence, seeming at times less restrained than his mistress. Mrs. Coulter is associated with the Magisterium, but her capacity with them is not explored very thoroughly. We eventually learn what her project is, but it's not clear where she falls in the command structure. But she is the only woman that we see with any level of authority in the organisation, so it seems safe to assume that she is a woman of some power. Evidently, Nicole Kidman was Philip Pullman's choice for this role ten years ago, and he wrote a personal letter to her to persuade her to take it. And to our benefit, because she is absolutely perfect. She's stunning, of course, and she brings a cold, calculating presence to the role. But there are also important moments of tenderness that are played perfectly.
For me, Lyra and Mrs. Coulter were overwhelmingly the major characters in the film. A close follower would be Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Sir Ian McKellen [The Lord of the Rings, X-Men]), a sapient polar bear. As I mentioned, such bears inhabit an arctic kingdom. The bears are known for their metalsmithing abilities and their fighting prowess. Iorek has fallen from grace and into exile among humans, and his shame is great. But when Lyra hires him to protect her, he is forced to face his past. He is proud, valiant, and loyal, but he has been unsure of himself in the past. Iorek was responsible for what I would consider the single most shocking moment in the movie, which brought forth a huge reaction from the theatre audience. Sir Ian McKellen provided a rich, deep, growling voice that I thought was perfect.
I had expected Daniel Craig's Lord Asriel to be a major character, but he was really sort of peripheral. At the beginning of the film, he returns from an expedition to deliver information on the controversial subject of Dust, and then he leaves Jordan to once again return to the North. We do see some of what befalls him, but his motives are never made quite clear. It could be a pure quest for knowledge, or he might hope to realise concrete gains. Lord Asriel's daemon is a great cat of some sort, which to me suggests bravery and nobility. Daniel Craig is quite handsome, and he exuded confidence and fearlessness, but perhaps a touch of recklessness as well.
Several other individuals were positioned, if you will, as main characters, but I didn't feel that they really fell into that role. There was the aforementioned pirate king, John Faa, who doesn't really even spark any memories for me when I try to think back on the character. There is Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott [Tombstone, The Contender]), an "aeronaut" who aids Lyra and apparently has some connection with Iorek, but it's never really explained. There's also the witch Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green [The Dreamers, Casino Royale]), who visits Lyra on board the Gyptian ship and alludes to knowledge of an important role Lyra must play in the fate of the world. Again, it seems as if there are perhaps connections here apart from one that is mentioned. I will say that I enjoyed Claire Higgens' turn as Ma Costa, the mother of Lyra's friend Billy. She's a confident, no-nonsense woman who is always willing to take action.
The special effects were incredible. The various daemons looked amazingly like real animals, and their interactions with the actors were quite realistic as well. The polar bears were, admittedly, a little bit less realistic, but then again they were sapient, and hardly identical to the bears of our world. I think they were slightly anthropomorphised. I noticed good attention to detail, such as how Iorek's fur moved when Lyra touched it. CGI has just come fantastically far since the days of Jar-Jar Binks. I think the real genius of the special effects is that they were used with restraint. Or at least it was made to look that way. The gyroscopically propelled vehicles looked like concrete objects, and it certainly felt like as many props and sets as possible were genuinely constructed rather than electronically created. This was accentuated by the cinematography; there were several shots that panned across the special effects, coming to rest on the characters. Some, more fantastical elements of the special effects were depicted a little more spectacularly, which made sense. For example, the dissolution of daemons upon their masters' deaths takes place with a flash of light and an explosion of golden embers, and Lyra glimpses swirling images of similar particles inside the alethiometer when she consults it.
I loved the costuming in the movie. When Mrs. Coulter first appears, she is wearing a magnificent golden gown that accentuates Nicole Kidman's sinuous movements. When she takes on Lyra as her protegee, they attend society functions and wear more fabulous outfits. The Gyptians wear a patchwork of mismatched garments that perfectly suits the idea of a wandering people who carry their lives on their backs. I also enjoyed the heavier clothing worn by the characters as they trekked into the tundra. The black cloaks worn by the flying witches served to accentuate the grace of their movements, while the black robes of the Magisterium and their insignia contribute to their menacing presence.
On the whole, I greatly enjoyed The Golden Compass. Visually, it was an incredible cinematic achievement, and it was greatly buoyed by the performances of its female leads. However, I will concede that there were some weaknesses in the writing, and I think that some of the complexity of the source material was lost.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Sneak Preview at My Local Theater
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Script
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Epinions.com ID:
DavidK93
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Member: David Kaplan
Location: Baltimore, MD
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 180 members
About Me:
Passions has been canceled, again. But I think I'll get over it; I've gained perspective.
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