In closing...This movie gave the characters more soul than they ever had, though I can't decide whether this is an improvement or simply a lightly-sickening, sappy twist that doesn't belong in this story. It's just . . . less objectionable. And unlike the novel, this world does have some beauty in it, added by both the stunning locations and the sense of a moral reality that the novels lacked. So, where the first couple hundred pages of the novel were difficult to get through--what with being unable to tell whom we should be rooting for (since all the characters seemed untrustworthy and/or dangerous), all the political blah, blah, blah, and the lack of life and joy in the story--the film version moved along more quickly.
The anti-religious aspect of the trilogy is very well disguised in this film. I'm not sure anyone would even notice it unless they had read the book. What I don't understand is how the filmmakers plan to keep up what they've started in terms of both tone and content for the sequels, as the next two books are more starkly brutal and necessarily become more explicit about original sin, the Fall, and the new Adam and Eve. How are they going to explain what Lord Asriel does next (shudder) in the context of this kinder, gentler Asriel? There's no way to hide these things without changing the very essence of the story.
I'm not a fan of the books, but even I know that the real Lyra wouldn't stand for that. Face it, Weitz, The spirit of the books has already been destroyed . . . not that there's anything wrong with that.
No comments:
Post a Comment