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Monday, December 12, 2005
Movie review: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Jay and I saw The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe on Saturday night.
Like many, I read the C.S. Lewis novels when I was a child, and I loved them. I was quite the devout little Southern Baptist when I was younger (Oh, how I have backslid since then!), and I ate up the Christian symbolism which seems a bit heavy-handed to me now. The Narnia stories were a part of my childhood. That is why I wanted so much to like this movie. But, unfortunately, I didn't. The movie is faithful to the book--which, ironically, is exactly why I didn't like it. It turns out that, as an adult, I find the behavior of the children in Narnia very peculiar. They don't act like real children; they are idealized, overly-wholesome versions(1) of what children actually are. The four main characters don't come across as real people; and in a story in which one finds talking lions and magic closets, it is essential that the humans be believable. The resulting movie feels stilted. And then there's the Christian symbolism, which is impossible for any person with even a passing familiarity with Western culture to ignore. The symbolism in the book is heavy-handed, as I stated earlier. When translated into a film, it just gets more intrusive. It's not that the movie is aggressively trying to win converts; its more that the spirit of the movie is so out of character with the allegory that the viewer is unpleasantly surprised when the movie takes a Christian turn. The effect is akin to finding a spider in your shoe.(2) The Christian Right has latched onto this movie like a social worker onto a baby. They find parallels between the evil White Witch and the supposed liberal movement to replace "Christmas" with "Secular Holiday Celebration," which is the particular bugaboo they think is lurking under their collective bed this week. I plan on playing into this little game completely, and so this is the  Anyway, go see The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe if you want. It's not terrible. Just be aware that this is no Harry Potter; it's OK for children, but a bit dull and preachy for adults. In closing, I give you a snippet of the review of the movie from The New Yorker, which was just too funny not to share. (3)
-- 1) As if The Bobbsey Twins were made British. 2) Even so, taking the Christianity out of Narnia would be like taking the strings of a violin. Oddly, that is exactly what might happen. HarperCollins plans on producing new Narnia stories, without Aslan the Lion. Would you like a side of hubris with your avarice? 3) Despite this little barb, The New Yorker gave a favorable review. |
