Sunday, December 3, 2017

Movie Review … Goodbye Christopher Robin

Movie biographies have recently become hugely popular.  Perhaps appealing to viewers not wanting to waste time searching online to discover true tales of decades-old subjects.  The genre provides history in bite sized chunks, easily digested with only the surface elements providing satisfaction.  This works occasionally although it is often better to search elsewhere for deeper analysis.  ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’ is in this style providing a snapshot of a children’s author whose creations still endure.

A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) is an author living in the countryside with his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie) and young son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston).  Searching for inspiration for his latest work, he is inspired by Christopher’s toys.  Using them to create characters such as Winnie the Pooh, his instant success changes his family.  With a public enchanted by the books as they try to escape the ravages between the First and Second World Wars, Milne’s popularity has consequences even his imagination couldn’t have created.

Directed by Simon Curtis, ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’ is an uneven film.  Whilst the facts about Milne creating his popular characters are fascinating, it’s how the movie conveys these that make it less amazing.  The story feels wrapped in a treacly cute package without much bite.  How the fictional characters affect Christopher’s life and relationships with his parents is very interesting.  But when the script hits the expected emotional beats, it feels artificial without much impact.  None of that is a reflection on the actors who are excellent but when the screenplay isn’t quite up to scratch there’s not much they can do.

‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’ has a great attention to detail and looks gorgeous.  Even though the period setting is suitably lush, there’s something fake about how people react to Milne’s work, which is a problem many biopics have.  No one can possibly know how people reacted in certain situations with the fictional bits of the narrative often getting in the way of the truth.  That doesn’t mean ‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’ isn’t engaging as issues of rejection, parenthood and war provide interest.

‘Goodbye Christopher Robin’ is a reasonably interesting exploration of the ramifications of one’s creativity.  Although it could have been better in terms of conveying genuine emotion without feeling artificial, as biopics go it’s decent enough.  This won’t stop more coming to screens with the well of temptation of turning famous people’s lives into cinematic fodder never in danger of running dry.

 
Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Movie Review … The Man Who Invented Christmas

Around this time there are a slew of movies celebrating Christmas.  Many are usually of the saccharine-sweet comedic variety showing the ‘joys’ and ‘magic’ of the season.  A few dare to put a darker spin such as the ‘Bad Santa’ films.  Based on Les Standiford’s book, ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ is a blend of those styles.  Neither dark nor light, its’ shades of grey makes for refreshing viewing.  Mixing fact and fiction, it weaves its own Christmas sparkle without the typical sentimental overload.

Suffering from the commercial failure of his recent books, Charles Dickens (Dan Stevens) is in a bind.  It’s October 1843 and he needs to find a way to support his young family.  Nearing the Christmas period, he decides to write a novel called ‘A Christmas Carol’.  Basing its characters on real life, including his father John (Jonathan Pryce) as his fictional character Scrooge (Christopher Plummer), Dickens is on a creative roll.  As his work of fiction takes shape, his mind wanders between fantasy and reality as his own ghosts of past, present and future spur him to the finish line.

‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ is a consistently enjoyable yuletide yarn.  While it drags towards the end, the screenplay cleverly blends the classic ‘A Christmas Carol’ tale with Dickens’ life.  The fictional elements may seem fanciful but this perfectly mirrors ‘A Christmas Carol’s’ fantastical strands that made it stand out.  Viewers will have to take the factual moments with a pinch of salt as well.  The script may not be quite accurate in this regard but it makes for interesting speculation as to how Dickens came up with such a timeless tale.

The strong performances enable ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ to ground itself in some form of reality. Although this may sound strange, it’s crucial in making the fantasy bits work.  Dickens’ world isn’t too glossy and proper with dirt and grime clearly seen.  Despite a few moments of sentimentality, the script has a quirky sense of humour and isn’t afraid of venturing into darker aspects of the human psyche.  Stevens conveys the frustrated genius of Dickens well with Plummer making for a very snarky Scrooge.  The production design is great with the unobtrusive score effectively highlighting scenes.

As sure as night follows day, there will always be a Christmas movie around that time.  Whilst most are to be avoided, ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’ isn’t one of them.  Those from the ‘bah humbug’ school of charm may even enjoy it as it sprinkles some whimsy across movie screens.


Movie Review Rating out of 10:  7

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

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Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

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Movie Review … Downsizing

‘Downsizing’ is a phrase that has both good and bad connotations.  It could mean to decrease the workforce with forced redundancies or a lowering of monies owed.  Whatever the meanings, the term has gained popularity in this era of rationalising everything.  The sci-fi/comedy film ‘Downsizing’ explores how humanity can be saved via this action.  Its premise may not be outlandish as first thought with the phrase sure to continue to be seen in dictionaries for decades.

Desperate to find a solution to the world’s over-population crisis, scientists from Norway came up with a smart idea.  Discovering a way to shrink humans to miniature size, they adopt this plan and build new small worlds for the tiny population.  One of the inhabitants is Paul (Matt Damon) who, along with his wife Audrey (Kristen Wiig), eagerly joins the queue for a new life.  The downsized community, including Dusan (Christoph Waltz) and Ngoc (Hong Chau), bring about a myriad of surprises as everyone adapts to a new way of living.

‘Downsizing’ is a quirky story with a mix of styles.  Veering from drama, comedy, eco-thriller and sci-fi, it’s a peculiar concoction. It doesn’t always work with the performers feeling as lost as the plot.  As the central character, we follow Paul as he deals with finding his life’s purpose in a new environment.  In being the ‘big man’ in the normal-sized world, he’s now a small entity forced to start afresh.  His journey in forging different paths is well conveyed by Damon who injects the right amount of sympathy to his confused role.

Whilst its execution isn’t great, ‘Downsizing’ has an abundance of good concepts in the screenplay.  There’s something to be said in trying to find a solution to the world’s over-population with the script’s narrative offering intriguing ideas.  It is how they are expressed that makes ‘Downsizing’ comes confused although the CGI and creativity gone in establishing the tiny world is well done.  The cast rise above the wobbly script by adding vitality in what could have been one-dimensional characters.

‘Downsizing’ doesn’t always work but when it does it grabs attention.  It is doubtful whether science will resolve the over-population issue like this in my lifetime but it is fun seeing a film speculating on possibilities.  ‘Downsizing’ doesn’t need to be cut down to size by audiences as it grapples with how to make it big in a tiny universe.

 
Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

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