Not a Perfect Adaptation, but Good Enough

Rating: 8/10 (25 September 2006)

Chalk up another one for quality book-to-movie adaptations (if only video game-to-movie ones had similar success).
Unlike the fairly realistic Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia have always been on the light side of fantasy. Indeed, LWW reads as much like a fairytale than anything else.
This live-action adaptation strays from its light-hearted roots, but only slightly and occasionally. If you're looking for a literal adaptation, with every cherished scene and bit of narration in place, look elsewhere. LotR fans had to give up Tom Bombadil, and what they got was nothing short of a masterwork of cinema.
LWW isn't quite that, but it is a very enjoyable film. I'm fairly accepting of changes with regards to the adaptation process, so I don't have problems with most of the changes. A couple of them, however...
One major plot point that was somehow scrubbed out was the issue surrounding the Turkish Delight. It's never said, nor really intimated, that this is enchanted food, that it creates an addiction that Jadis uses to control Edmund with. It really damages Edmund's motivation for his betrayal. And the worst part is that all they needed was about 5 seconds of dialog from Mr. Beaver explaining his suspicions about having eaten of her food. That alone would get the audience thinking that there was something up with the food that was giving Jadis some control over Edmund. Granted, I've read the book, so I could understand his motivation, but I could also understand why someone else wouldn't.
Then we come to the wolves, particularly Fenris Ulf, or as they pointlessly renamed him for the film, Maugrim. The scene where he gets killed in the book is very fast, very sudden. In the movie, it's much slower paced, and not entirely convincing that he would just throw himself at Peter, who has his sword drawn and aimed straight at him. Maugrim basically committed suicide, with Peter holding the blade.
The other small issue I have is with the Professor. In the movie, he seemed very much like he knew that the wardrobe held powers, that there was something about it. However, in the book, he seemed more like the kind of guy who, while not knowing much about the house, would nevertheless not be surprised in the least if a portal to a magical land were somewhere around. This seems like a rather needless change to me.
Not all of the changes were bad. Indeed, I would say that most of the changes were improvements, even on some things that I hadn't considered back 15 years ago when I read the book.
Susan, for example, wasn't really a character in the book. Oh, she was there. But she didn't really do anything. Indeed, I can imagine CS Lewis looking at a draft of LWW and wondering how to get rid of Susan without screwing up the poetry of "Two Sons of Adam and Two Daughters of Eve." But, of course, he couldn't, so she had to hang around.
In the film, she gets at least some character. Since they had to follow the book, they couldn't give her too much to do, but she has a character at least. She's "logical" (and says it more times than Spock, without being annoying about it) and rational. She's the one who keeps telling them to leave.
Speaking of which, all of them, save Lucy, have a general reluctance to take part in defending Narnia. Which makes lots of sense; in the book, they just seem to go along with it. In the movie, once they get Edmund back, they start deciding to simply leave.
Which gives Edmund to show off his character growth as he says that they have to stay. That he's seen what Jadis can do, that he's helped her do it. A great moment in the film, as shades of King Edmund the Just emerge.
And I am thankful that they were able to find a way to ditch Father Christmas's awful line, "Battles are ugly when women fight," while still retaining the character. A line so bad that I shuddered at it when I read it 15 years ago.
Which at last brings us to Jadis, Queen of Narnia. Everything about her, from design to acting, is perfect. The dresses she wears, her hairstyle, Tilda Swanson's brilliant acting, everything is designed to evoke a certain sense of the character, and they work brilliantly.
Two things of note in this regard. One is her wand. I always imagined something along the lines of a short stick. You know, a Harry Potter-style wand, as depicted in all kinds of old fairy tales and Disney movies. That's not Jadis's wand anymore.
No, this is a short staff, designed to evoke her powers. It's more of a think scepter, but who cares what it's called; it looks great on film. It looks like an icicle with metal wrapped around it. It is a great device, wielded magnificently by Tilda Swanson.
The other thing about Jadis is her fighting. After her wand is broken (and she stabs the remains into Edmund who broke it. Excellent idea), she starts dual-wielding swords. In the book, she's supposed to fight Peter with some knife. I agree with the filmmakers on this point. The grace and elegance of her movements is just astonishing to watch. This isn't some pseudo-wuxia-style fight, nor is it something out of Jackson's LotR. No, this is a style all its own, and it works magnificently.
If you're a fan of LWW, watch this movie if you're the least bit open-minded about adaptational changes. If you're not a fan, watch it anyway; it works well as a movie.