Goodbye Christopher Robin
3.5/4
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Will Tilston, Kelly Macdonald, Margot Robbie, Stephen Campbell Moore, Alex Lawther
Rated PG for Thematic Elements, Some Bullying, War Images and Brief Language
My mother never read me "Winnie the Pooh" when I was a little tyke. Or maybe she did. You'll have to ask her. And I hadn't even heard of this movie before a friend of mine invited me to a preview screening. So I had no preconceived notions of the movie I was about to see. Not that that matters much in terms of quality of a movie (usually), but despite my little knowledge of Winnie the Pooh and his friends, I very much enjoyed this movie.
Alan Milne (Gleeson), or "Blue," as his wife Daphne (Robbie) calls him, is a writer famous for his plays. But the events he took part in during The Great War have never fully healed. His PTSD is triggered by just about everything, and he decides to move him and his family to the rural countryside. But Daphne, who isn't happy about being left out of the hustle and bustle of the Roaring Twenties, points out that he's still not writing. She even leaves him to return to the city only when he resumes his work. His relationship with his son, Christopher Robin (Tilston), is frosty, with Alan being emotionally unavailable to anyone. Only Christopher's nanny, Olive (Macdonald), or "Nou" as she is called, truly seems to care for him. But when she has to leave to be at her mother's bedside in her final moments, Alan and his son form a tentative bond over the imaginative world they create starring him and his stuffed toys. Thus begins the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher is thrust into the international spotlight.
"Goodbye Christopher Robin" broaches a number of intriguing ideas. Where do a fictional character and the real person it is based off diverge? Or, how does it feel for a child to see the common bond between him and his father bought, packaged and sold to the entire world? Or how does the sudden influx of fame cause a child to react? And what, if any, responsibility does Alan bear when his book becomes a worldwide frenzy? Where do he and Daphne draw the line between his success and fame and Christopher's well being? How does a parent navigate this territory? These are intriguing questions, and director Simon Curtis gives them all their due.
Domhnall Gleeson (son of the great Brendan Gleeson) is flat-out brilliant as Blue. Emotionally reserved by nature and British culture, he finds it difficult to escape the horrors of the past. His writing suffers and his relationships with his family are crumbling. However, through the imagination of his son, he has found a way out. By creating such a world of innocence and joy, he has allowed himself to heal, and bond with his son. But this success comes at the cost of his son's well-being, which takes him a long time to realize. From "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" to "Suicide Squad" Margot Robbie continues to impress with her range of stellar performances, and this is no different. Daphne is definitely self-centered and superficial, but shows moments of tenderness and affection towards Christopher. Actually, it's her that germinates the idea for the story, albeit unintentionally. However, not even someone as talented as Robbie can mask the fact that her character is underwritten. Kelly Macdonald is delightful as Nou, who loved Christopher like her own son and looks out for him when his parents are unwilling to do so. It's a long shot, but she and Gleeson deserve Oscar nominations. Sadly, the actors who play Christopher do not hold up. Will Tilston is at times so cute and precocious that you want to strangle him, and has the awkwardness in front of the camera that afflicts many child actors. Alex Lawther, who plays a grown up Christopher, is similarly flat. He was good as the young Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game," but he's miscast here.
The film's first act is tough going. Director Simon Curtis has trouble laying all the pieces and setting up the story. It's not unwatchable by any means, but it's messy and could have used another rewrite. Once Alan and Christopher begin to bond (which doesn't happen in a convincing fashion), the film takes off.
Because of the subject matter and the kid-friendly PG rating, I imagine that many parents think that this is a movie they can watch with their children. That's not the case here. Content-wise, there's nothing that's inherently adult (although the PTSD-related material is intense enough that a PG-13 would probably have been the better option), but kids will be bored out of their minds by the languid pace, themes of creativity and fame that will go over their heads, or several scenes that are genuinely heartbreaking. Leave them with the nanny.
This is not a perfect movie, but it is a tremendously effective one. I always look forward to this time of year because that's when Hollywood starts releasing quality movies for Oscar attention. "Goodbye Christopher Robin" is probably too low profile for the Academy to notice (and has definitely been released too early), but this is one movie that you won't want to miss.
Starring: Domhnall Gleeson, Will Tilston, Kelly Macdonald, Margot Robbie, Stephen Campbell Moore, Alex Lawther
Rated PG for Thematic Elements, Some Bullying, War Images and Brief Language
My mother never read me "Winnie the Pooh" when I was a little tyke. Or maybe she did. You'll have to ask her. And I hadn't even heard of this movie before a friend of mine invited me to a preview screening. So I had no preconceived notions of the movie I was about to see. Not that that matters much in terms of quality of a movie (usually), but despite my little knowledge of Winnie the Pooh and his friends, I very much enjoyed this movie.
Alan Milne (Gleeson), or "Blue," as his wife Daphne (Robbie) calls him, is a writer famous for his plays. But the events he took part in during The Great War have never fully healed. His PTSD is triggered by just about everything, and he decides to move him and his family to the rural countryside. But Daphne, who isn't happy about being left out of the hustle and bustle of the Roaring Twenties, points out that he's still not writing. She even leaves him to return to the city only when he resumes his work. His relationship with his son, Christopher Robin (Tilston), is frosty, with Alan being emotionally unavailable to anyone. Only Christopher's nanny, Olive (Macdonald), or "Nou" as she is called, truly seems to care for him. But when she has to leave to be at her mother's bedside in her final moments, Alan and his son form a tentative bond over the imaginative world they create starring him and his stuffed toys. Thus begins the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher is thrust into the international spotlight.
"Goodbye Christopher Robin" broaches a number of intriguing ideas. Where do a fictional character and the real person it is based off diverge? Or, how does it feel for a child to see the common bond between him and his father bought, packaged and sold to the entire world? Or how does the sudden influx of fame cause a child to react? And what, if any, responsibility does Alan bear when his book becomes a worldwide frenzy? Where do he and Daphne draw the line between his success and fame and Christopher's well being? How does a parent navigate this territory? These are intriguing questions, and director Simon Curtis gives them all their due.
Domhnall Gleeson (son of the great Brendan Gleeson) is flat-out brilliant as Blue. Emotionally reserved by nature and British culture, he finds it difficult to escape the horrors of the past. His writing suffers and his relationships with his family are crumbling. However, through the imagination of his son, he has found a way out. By creating such a world of innocence and joy, he has allowed himself to heal, and bond with his son. But this success comes at the cost of his son's well-being, which takes him a long time to realize. From "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" to "Suicide Squad" Margot Robbie continues to impress with her range of stellar performances, and this is no different. Daphne is definitely self-centered and superficial, but shows moments of tenderness and affection towards Christopher. Actually, it's her that germinates the idea for the story, albeit unintentionally. However, not even someone as talented as Robbie can mask the fact that her character is underwritten. Kelly Macdonald is delightful as Nou, who loved Christopher like her own son and looks out for him when his parents are unwilling to do so. It's a long shot, but she and Gleeson deserve Oscar nominations. Sadly, the actors who play Christopher do not hold up. Will Tilston is at times so cute and precocious that you want to strangle him, and has the awkwardness in front of the camera that afflicts many child actors. Alex Lawther, who plays a grown up Christopher, is similarly flat. He was good as the young Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game," but he's miscast here.
The film's first act is tough going. Director Simon Curtis has trouble laying all the pieces and setting up the story. It's not unwatchable by any means, but it's messy and could have used another rewrite. Once Alan and Christopher begin to bond (which doesn't happen in a convincing fashion), the film takes off.
Because of the subject matter and the kid-friendly PG rating, I imagine that many parents think that this is a movie they can watch with their children. That's not the case here. Content-wise, there's nothing that's inherently adult (although the PTSD-related material is intense enough that a PG-13 would probably have been the better option), but kids will be bored out of their minds by the languid pace, themes of creativity and fame that will go over their heads, or several scenes that are genuinely heartbreaking. Leave them with the nanny.
This is not a perfect movie, but it is a tremendously effective one. I always look forward to this time of year because that's when Hollywood starts releasing quality movies for Oscar attention. "Goodbye Christopher Robin" is probably too low profile for the Academy to notice (and has definitely been released too early), but this is one movie that you won't want to miss.
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