Film Review: Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Posted on | June 29, 2010 | No Comments
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Directed by Tim Burton
http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/aliceinwonderland/
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Alice Kingsley (Mia Wasikowska) faces a choice that will affect the rest of her life – whether or not to make an advantageous match with a man she does not particularly like. Instead of deciding, she takes a moment to follow a white rabbit, who leads her down a rabbit hole and into a crazy world from her childhood dreams – one that now needs her to fight its battle against the Jabberwocky and the Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter).
I don’t usually give an extra star, or as I do now, half a star, just for visuals, but in this case it was worth it, just for the unbridled invention involved in creating the costumes and wigs, creatures and landscapes. The visuals were strange, colourful and gorgeous, from the insanely coloured nobility to the subtle purples of the Cheshire Cat and forests at nighttime, and the brilliance of the White Queen’s palace and the greys of battlefield. The story, unfortunately, was not worth three on its own.
Considering that the film concerned a return to Wonderland rather than a retelling or transformation of the original, far too many events remained unchanged. Iconic scenes such as Alice shrinking and growing and her meetings with the Caterpillar and the mad tea party happened almost exactly as they did in the original. It seemed that the scenes were worked in just because they would be expected, rather than because the story required it.
The central external conflict in this new story also failed to impress a sense of gravity, as the only political difference between the Red and the White Queens (the White Queen played to a creepy, funny, excellent effect by Anne Hathaway) was that the latter seemed a little nicer, had a normal sized head, and the people seemed to prefer her. I was not left convinced she would implement any significant social improvements. The underlying story, which was of Alice finding her assertiveness, played out in the background, and ended up in her taking control of her life in a way that it’s hard to believe would actually be possible considering the era and her age.
No-one should be surprised at this point that in a Hollywood movie – one based on a Victorian novel, no less – looks equal goodness. The fat twins are funny and the court full of malformed freaks is the one that’s evil, whereas the pretty women in white dresses are the embodiment of virtue.
In order to fully enjoy this film, you will have to ignore silly, even cringe-worthy decisions by the filmmakers, as well as some cliches and repetition. Be prepared for those, however, and you may be in for quite an enjoyable ride.
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