THE STORY

Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is a 12-year-old girl who lives in a parallel universe uncannily like our own, except everyone is accompanied by a 'daemon'--their soul in animal form. Lyra is a ward of Jordan College, Oxford, where her uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig) is a fellow and also an explorer and adventurer of some repute. When he discovers on one of his travels that a mysterious substance called 'Dust' can enable Man to communicate with other parallel worlds, he sets out on a polar expedition to learn more. But his efforts are frowned upon by the Magisterium, an all-powerful institution that seeks to keep humanity under its control. They devise plans to stop him, just as they have dastardly plans to abduct children, but to what end? When Lyra's friends go missing, she suspects they have been abducted and is determined to rescue them. But only when Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman), a special agent of the Magisterium's, befriends Lyra and takes her along to the north, does Lyra realise the danger she and the other children are in. In her possession, and unknown to Mrs Coulter, is the last alethiometer in the world, the Golden Compass, a device of world-shaking import. Surrounded by a host of menacing gypsies, pirates, flying witches and battling bears, Lyra must distinguish friend from foe, learn to decipher the truth from her altheiometer, and save innocent children from the evil clutches of the Magisterium.

THE CAST

Lyra is an engaging protagonist--feisty, tough, and not averse to lying in order to get out of a sticky situation. Newcomer Dakota Blue Richards is no Ivana Baquero (the young actress who plays Ofelia in Pan's Labyrinth), but she acquits herself well enough in the role of Lyra. Twelve is very much a transitional age, and hopefully, Richards will grow apace with her character (as opposed to growing up too fast, as success is wont to do to young stars) in the next instalments, if indeed there prove to be any, a decision that will depend on the box-office takings of this one.

Nicole Kidman as Mrs Coulter is the embodiment of icy menace. Her seeming perfection, her slinking walk, her immaculate dress and coiffure, hide a sense of malice that is projected into her daemon, a feral monkey-like creature that would scare the bejesus out of anyone.

Daniel Craig appears so briefly that that is barely time to rue the fact that his rugged build is hidden beneath those period costumes. He has said in an interview that he looks forward to the next instalment of the trilogy, especially the relationship with Mrs Coulter. She should be so lucky.

Other cast members and voice actors are mostly stellar but many are under-used, including the great Christopher Lee who makes an appearance that might have lasted 3 seconds. One suspects a great deal of editing has taken place, resulting in much film on the cutting-room floor. Incidentally, the cinematic version is a second adaptation, the original screenplay by Tom Stoppard having been thrown out, allegedly for cleaving too close to the spirit of the book.


THE CONTROVERSY

Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy (of which The Golden Compass is but the first instalment) is very much a coming-of-age story set in a world rife with mystery, danger, and magic. It's also a cautionary fable against institutionalized religion which purports to rule the lives, minds, hearts and souls of people. The anti-Catholic sentiments in the books are so overt few could really call it subversive. But everyone, including authors, is entitled to their opinions, and when there is rhyme and reason behind someone's animosity towards something, the educated response should not be censorship but diligent study. Then again, that's assuming people who pull books off library shelves without having actually read them are educated, when the converse is necessarily true. More than likely, they're too blinded by prejudice to understand what they're reading. But I digress.

Lyra is free-willed. Although she lives under the aegis of Oxford dons, she roams the streets with her best friend, a servant's boy, and gets into fights with 'Gyptians', gypsy-like children. Lyra is not only free-willed; she's strong-willed. Spurning the idea that she's to be raised a lady, she speaks in a rough Cockney-like accent, an accent that persists incongruously in one who frequents the High Table.

In the movie, much is made of free will. There is only a fleeting glimpse of religious frescoes in one scene. No doubt the Hollywood powers-that-be figured they would be much better off targeting a family audience. Controversy can only help them so far where publicity is concerned. And so, The Golden Compass was adapted with Narnia in mind. Unfortunately, when you take out the soul of the story (a startling parallel to something that happens in the movie), you remove something essential. The result is a limp storyline that, despite its frenetic pacing, fails to engage the audience wholly. Sure, the computer effects (especially the bears and daemons) are astounding, and there are wonderful, almost throwaway, props (a strangely-beautiful carriage, the stunning interior of a dirigible), but for a budget of $180 million, you'd think there'd be more spectacle and less dependence on green screen.

But eye-candy is just that, and while the eyes are dazzled by the magic happening onscreen, the mind is seldom challenged and the heart, alas, is not engaged. Sure, we care what happens to Lyra and we recoil at Mrs Coulter's icy menace, but a crucial scene with them comes across as a laughably derivative Darth Vader/Luke Skywalker showdown.

Subversive it ain't, and Narnia it isn't, but it will still appeal to younger members of the audience (though not much younger than 8 or 9, as there are some violent and some scary scenes). Parents of all persuasions will find nothing offensive or remotely subversive in the movie, merely a tale of adventure that celebrates free will and the human spirit in a determinedly non-controversial manner. A fan of the books has pointed out that all the politics, metaphysics and philosophy have been thrown out, and though the 'baby with the bathwater' metaphor applies big-time, what can we expect from Hollywood but a cynical money-spinner? Still, the first of a trilogy is always tough, when there's so much to set up in terms of background, setting and character. Perhaps the second and third instalments will redeem everything big time. Fingers crossed.







Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12