More Texture Than Glitz

Rating: 8/10 (14 December 2005)

I was touched by this movie not because of its flash but because of its humanness which is ironic because of the decidedly 'non-human' aspect of most of its characters. I guess that's the idea and I know that's why Lewis wrote it. As a children's story it obviously serves as a beautiful moral tool. The Christian allusions and the use of the movie as a Christian allegory have been mentioned many times here and I won't re-state them. Suffice it to say, Andrew Adamson and the writers have been content with letting the STORY remain pre-eminent and not giving in to making Narnia a multi-billion-dollar CG extravaganza.
The acting of the kids was good enough for a kids movie and that's about as much as I can say regarding THEM. Tilda Swinton, as the only other major HUMAN-like actor in the film, however, was OUT STANDING. The utter amorality and cold, callous cruelty of the White Witch exuded from Swinton and I think it is fair to say that she dominated every scene she was in. The ecstasy of the Witch's triumph at the Stone Table was written on her face and you could FEEL the loss of hope for Narnia. Her final demise, including her awestruck whisper: 'Impossible' when seeing Aslan back from the dead, was stupendous. I understand it is shown in the Trivia section for this movie that Swinton had not read the book prior to filming. I find this absolutely astounding. She did not act the Witch, she became the Witch!
I should perhaps mention Aslan himself. CGI he was but he was a 'user-friendly' CGI to be sure. He wasn't intended to be a 'super' lion or have super-powers in a special effects kind of way. He was a remarkable lion for sure but he was real enough for Lucy to entwine her fingers in his mane as the girls walked with him for a short way on his journey to the Stone Table. He was real enough to talk to the children yet still scare the bejeepers out of the Witch.
Images that will remain with me: -the WWII Blitz set-up at the beginning -the first sighting by Lucy of the wardrobe itself and her slow-motion pulling off of its dust cover -the first entry by Lucy into Narnia -Tumnus' lulling her to sleep with his flute next to the fireplace - sheer magic! -the temptation of Edmund by the White Witch with her vial and the turning of its magically conjured objects of delight into powdery snow once used - vividly foreshadowing her empty promises! -the Beavers - just like the book in every way -the frozen waterfall that was slowly thawing -the final battle - the dropping by the eagles and griffins of rocks and boulders on the Witch's army in great symbolism of the Blitz in London in the 'real world' outside the wardrobe -the stabbing of Edmund by the Witch -Aslan knocking the Witch down and finishing her at the end
An excellent movie to take your own kids to. There is no starkly graphic images.