With some of the best CGI I’ve seen in a long time, the fantastical literary world of Lyra Belacqua is brought to life in this engaging, action-filled adventure that leaves viewers craving MORE.
I have wanted to see The Golden Compass since it was advertised late last year. It was not just because the film epitomizes the YA urban fantasy novels by Philip Pullman, but also because of the controversy surrounding it. Once I heard that people were boycotting this film because of Pullman’s take on the Catholic church, I HAD to see it. What could it possibly contain that would go against the church? I wondered.
Nothing, it seems, that hasn’t been represented in any film about a Big Brother that wants to abolish free will. The film – and the novels – offer up a Big Brother that wants to squash the people’s individuality by killing off their daemons – small creatures attached that are the free will of each person. (More on this below)
The film
Lyra Belacqua is a precocious orphan at a boarding school in the U.K., where her uncle is a professor. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, is on the road all the time. During one sojourn back at the school, Lyra hides in a closet and see a Magisterium (Big Brother Bad Guys) put poison in the bottle of brandy made ready for her uncle. She stops him from drinking it – just in time. Her uncle hides her in the closet as the room fills with colleagues as he tells them he has found evidence of dust – a sort of life force that the Magistrate wants to control in every world, not just ours. What she overhears immediately piques her curiosity – a deadly thing when it comes to dust.
Her uncle leaves to follow this lead, and Lyra finds herself becoming the attendant to Marissa Coulter, a rich and powerful woman played by Nicole Kidman. Marissa says she wants what’s best for Lyra, but the girl is too smart and figures out quickly that things are not always what they seem. She flees with the alethiometer and her daemon to find her childhood friends, who were taken by the GOB, a group that uses orphaned or poor children as guinea pigs for their daemon incision experiments.
The Golden Compass ends with a flare of battle, where good overcomes evil in a way reminiscent of the end to the first in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the end to Star Wars. Viewers know that, while good prevails, it’s only the beginning of a war that will turn deadlier as pursuit of the truth and dust. I immediately wanted the second and third in the series to know what happens – and to see what great magical characters would come to life on screen.
This movie kept me glued to the screen. The best scene is the CGI creation of the polar bear fight scene, which spins 360 degrees as Lorek Byrnison fights once again for the kingdom wrongfully stolen from him. It is only Lyra’s courage and belief in him that pushes Lorek Byrnison to fight to the death – and win. I really liked how the special effects team produces these bursts of dusty flame that erupt and quickly dissipate when someone dies. If your daemon is gone, you are dead.
(I should be clear. Daemons are NOT demons, and, without seeing the word in the books before the film, you may think these people are possessed. In a way, that is what the Magistrate wants people to think, so it’s easier for them to get people to off their own daemons and become more android-like. Find out more about daemons in a DVD extra that is well worth the watch.)
The film includes some acting greats – many of whom are my favorites. Nicole Kidman’s cunning portrayal of the rich and powerful Marissa was creepy and perfect. How Kidman can get the hidden evil of her character out with just a look, I will never know; I will just continue to applaud her incredibly ability to bring both the surface and the soul to life through her eyes alone. Sam Elliot rocks as Lee Scoresby, the cowboy aircraft pilot who makes his debut just in time to introduce Lyra to Lorek Byrnison, and to save the day. I miss Elliot’s presence in Tinsel Town. That gruff voice and all-man exterior is just not found in Hollywood today. Nope, if you want a cowboy, he’s either gay or totally metrosexual. I’m from the Midwest and don’t know any real cowboys who get waxed. Elliot manages to personify the rough, tough, but GOOD side of the Old West and bring his character to life in a way that no other actor could.
I did not see enough of Daniel Craig, Lyra’s uncle and a man with a big family secret. I wanted more of Craig and Kidman, but I figure that will come if the triology is completed. Craig signed on for the film because he loves Pullman’s books, which were a raging success in the U.K.
The novels
Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy was inspired by a line in John Milton’s Paradise Lost, a 17th century epic poem about the fall of man as told in Genesis. The set includes The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass.
The Golden Compass is actually the English title for author Philip Pullman’s U.K. young adult release, Northern Lights (also the title of a Nora Roberts book). The title is not only catchy, but reflects the all-important alethiometer, a combination compass/pocket watch that is able to tell what is truth. Not everyone has the ability to use the alethiometer. But Lyra is a very special girl. She was prophesied centuries earlier, and she alone will decide the fate of this world and every other one that runs parallel to it.
Northern Lights won the be all, end all of awards: The Carnegie Medal for U.K. children’s fiction. The last in the series, The Amber Spyglass, won the Whitbread Book of the Year six years ago. The author won the Astrid Lindgren memorial Award for his writing.
There are two companion pieces to His Dark Materials: Lyra’s Oxford and Once upon a Time in the North. Pullman is currently working on the trilogy follow up, The Book of Dust, which could be released as early as next year.
What is so cool about Pullman’s work is how he successfully (at least from the film standpoint) ties together Gyptians (gypsies), humans, daemons, witches, bad guys, fighting bears and so many different elements of fantasy. I have never seen these pulled together in a unique and powerful way. Somehow he managed to string together these seemingly unrelated bits of fiction together into their own world into a captivating tale you want to know more about.
The controversy
Pullman is a self-proclaimed atheist. That alone raises the hackles of Christians everywhere – at least those unlike myself, who enjoy a good story. Some even say that Pullman is trying to undermine C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. (Lewis, a good friend of J.R.R. Tolkein, was an atheist before he became a Christian and wrote the insanely popular series that has also made it to the Big Screen.)
Many religious groups boycotted the film and books because they said they were a slight against religion. Certainly, Pullman has made statements that seem to support this theory. But while Pullman recognizes that controversy boosts book and ticket sales, he also stands for truths that should be evident and embraced by ALL, no matter your denominational affiliation, including living life to its fullest, and embracing who you are in media interviews.
I do not think Pullman set out to write a series defaming religion. Watch the DVD documentary extra where he talks about creating Lyra’s world. Pullman was just a man who wanted to write a story. Like all authors, he started off with bits and pieces and characters here and there, and eventually, it all came together into the trilogy that has sold more than 16 million copies world wide. I’m sure his personal views shaped the man, but his imagination seized on our need as humans for free will and created an enchanted world where people are willing to fight the bad guys for it.
This controversy – along with the release of I Am Legend (BLAH) – kept ticket sales down. I hope, though, that creators are compelled to tell the rest of the story. It is too captivating to leave unfulfilled.
From Print to Screen
In another DVD documentary extra, Pullman tells how he worked alongside the crew to make the film as accurate as possible. Since he was working with fans of the books, the process was fluid – remarkably so for a business that is ego-driven. I appreciated it when Pullman talked about how he wrote a specific scene between Marissa (Kidman) and her daemon for the film that isn’t in any of the books. He did not mind doing it at all. It was his pleasure. He was just happy to see his work on screen – and get the royalty check, of course! (Come on, people. Authors make beans. They don’t do it because they all draw salaries like King and Koontz. They do it because they are driven to. If they make enough to pay the bills, that’s even better.)
The DVD extras for this movie are all well worth the watch. Besides those mentioned above, I encourage everyone to watch the behind-the-scenes look at how the alethiometer was created. It was a fascinating and complicated process that was completed in the nick of time. You can also see interviews with cast, crew, and Pullman, as well as segments on the computer recreation of Lyra’s world.
The Golden Compass captivated me so much that I plan to buy the trilogy and read it cover to cover. I am hopeful that the final two books will come to life on the Big Screen.