The Golden Compass

Posted by Greg

May 11, 2008

Askew North

***out of *****

Well, this is the movie that finally made me decide. After decades of asking myself whether it’s better to watch the movie or read the book first, it’s definitely better to read the book after you’ve seen the movie. As a film on its own, The Golden Compass is beautiful to look at and fleetingly fun, but when you compare it to Phillip Pullman’s tome on which it’s based, it’s surprisingly shallow and cold, rushing forward without a lot of coherence and lacking the stark sense of imagination, detailed character development and sense of wonder that made the book an instant classic.

The Golden Compass quickly ushers us into a parallel world, much like our own but with varying degrees of difference. The technology of this particular world is a strange mix between magic and science, while a person’s soul manifests itself as a daemon, a living, talking animal companion that can change shape.

Our hero is young Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards), an orphan living at the grandiose Jordan College who spends her days having the type of mischievous fun that children tend to do when not under adult supervision all the time. When her Uncle, the blunt and forthright Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), shows up at the college asking the board to fund his trip to the Arctic Circle, it greatly upsets the representative of the Magisterium, a body of religious control freaks troubled by his research into parallel dimensions and a mysterious particle known as ‘dust’.

But when the elegant yet icy Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman) arrives and asks to take Lyra to the north to help her with her work, Lyra is drawn into a complex game of cat and mouse. Along the way she befriends armoured ice bear Iorek Byrnison (Ian McKellan), Texas aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), the Gyptian King John Faa (Jim Carter) and centuries-old witch Serrafina Pekkala (Eva Green); we also learn - although Lyra doesn’t yet - that she might be the deciding factor in an imminent war between good and evil.

The film generated quite a lot of buzz in the movie biz, not only for its boycott by the Catholic League (they’re quite happy to point out the Christian themes in the Narnia movies but aren’t so happy when someone makes a movie vague with anti-religious themes), but also for the departure - and eventual return - of director Chris Weitz, who left because he wasn’t sure he could handle the logistics of making a massive movie like this (he’s primarily known for writing and co-directing American Pie). He was eventually talked into returning, but one wonders whether it was the right decision.

Despite the fact that the movie looks fantastic, the set pieces seem to lack a certain magic to tie them together, and although it’s nearly 2 hours long, it feels as though they greenlit the script before anyone got a change to hone it. At times I felt I was watching an old episode of ‘Inspector Gadget’, where the bumbling detectives near-omniscient niece (and her animal companion, natch) manage to solve every problem that occurs when the adults are floundering in the background. It all seemed too easy; there was no urgency or suspense.

In terms of script, well, if you haven’t read the book, you probably won’t notice just how much they truncated, but once you do, it’s hard to see past some of the clunky exposition that’s handled so well on the page.

Young Richards has quite a lot on her shoulders - New Line Cinema is hoping that this three-part series will be their new Lord of the Rings and it all rests with her. Considering it’s her first film, she does an admirable job, displaying just the right mix of childlike innocence and tomboyish street smarts. As Lord Asriel, Craig has barely more than a cameo, but he does command the screen whenever he’s there. Kidman was the right choice - she acts a bit like the ice Queen of Narnia if she grew up in London. The rest of the cast pull off some nice moments, although Green as Serrafina Pekkala sounds like a wispy hippie who just finished a giant doobie.

Personally, the biggest upset for me was seeing that they cut the entire last few chapters of the book from the movie, leaving a lesser battle to serve as the film’s climax. I know they shot it, because you can glimpse it in the trailer, but it’s really a shame - it was an emotional and important finale that gave Lyra’s quest a whole new sense of urgency and dramatic weight.

I have a feeling that most people will enjoy it, but once you’ve read the book you’ll see why I was a bit more disappointed than I expected to be. When the lights come up, you’ll have been entertained, but read the book to be enthralled.

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