Starring
Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement,
Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
(2016, 117 min).
When
The BFG more-or-less bombed in theaters this past summer, I noticed a
slew of reactionary morons crawling out of the woodwork to ask, has
Steven Spielberg finally lost it?
What
a stupid question. The BFG's underwhelming box office performance had
nothing to do with Spielberg. There are several obvious reasons why
it failed. First, The BFG is based on a Roald Dahl novel that's less familiar to most audiences than some of his other works. Second,
given the premise and frankly-terrible title, this film must have
been a marketing nightmare. Third, the summer was glutted with so
many would-be blockbusters that The BFG was even forced to compete
with other family films from its own studio..
The
biggest reason, though, is that audiences have changed. We're living
in an age when superheroes and colorful, action-packed animation
define family entertainment for the masses. It doubt even E.T. would
make much of an impression if it were released today. What chance
does a deliberately-paced, whimsically low-key, nearly conflict-free
film like this have?
So
is The BFG a great film? Not really, but it's a decent one that's
brimming with confidence, creativity and visual wonders. In other
words, Spielberg can direct stuff like this in his sleep and still
end up with a pretty solid piece of family entertainment. Armed with
a script by the late Melissa Mathison, who also wrote E.T., he treads
similar ground with this tale of an English orphan girl, Sophie
(newcomer Ruby Barnhill), who gets taken away by the title character
(Mark Rylance, in an amazing motion-capture performance) to Giant
Country. There, they strike a friendship as he introduces her to his
job, collecting & creating dreams in jars to place in
people's minds while they sleep. A group of nastier, barbaric giants
live there as well, who eat children and regularly bully the Big
Friendly Giant (or BFG, as Sophie calls him). That's when Sophie
suggests utilizing the BFG's dream-making skills to convince Queen
Elizabeth II to mobilize England's army and rid Giant Country of the
other monsters, thus saving more children from being eaten.
 |
| Sophie falls for the old 'pull my finger' gag...with tragic results. |
The
BFG doesn't actually spend a significant amount of time on the plot
itself, or any real conflict at all, for that matter. The film's
mostly content to follow Sophie and the BFG throughout Giant Country
and the realm (?) where dreams flutter about like fireflies. As one
would expect with Spielberg at the helm, The BFG is visually
stunning. Giant Country looks cross between the Scottish Highlands
and Middle Earth, while the cave the BFG calls home is both rustic
and colorful. The title character himself - his facial expressions,
in particular – is wonderfully rendered and perfectly voiced by
Rylance. Every frame he shares with Sophie and the other human
characters is mostly very convincing.
There
is, however, an overall air of detachment in the proceedings. The
relationship between Sophie and the BFG is charming, but not
particularly dynamic, so we never become that emotionally invested in
them. Even the few moments of mild conflict are quickly resolved and
instantly forgotten, like the film is trying way too hard to
consistently play nice. Not that there's necessarily anything wrong
with that, but even E.T. had moments of suspense when we feared for
characters' lives. That, coupled with its
I'll-get-there-when-I-get-there pace, might have youngsters weened on
Pixar fidgeting in their seats.
Still,
this is undoubtedly a film only Spielberg could have made. So no, he
hasn't “lost it.” If anything, considering how he's grown has a
director over the decades and demonstrated uncanny talent in any genre,
The BFG is more like Spielberg rediscovering his old toys in the
attic and is inviting us to play along. Whether or not we feel we're
above such childhood trifles isn't really his problem.
EXTRA
KIBBLES:
FEATURETTES:
“Bringing
The BFG to Life” - making of doc, hosted by Ruby Barnhill;
”Gobblefunk:
The Wonderful Worlds of The BFG” - a look at the impressive set
design;
“Giants
101” - how the other 9 giants were designed and rendered.
“The
Big Friendly Giant and Me” - a charming motion-comic version of the
book found by Sophie, written the the boy who lived with the BFG
before her (sort-of bittersweet once you've seen the film);
“Melissa
Mathison: A Tribute” - production team members pat their respects
to the late screenwriter (whose last film this was).
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
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