The Golden Compass stars Nicole Kidman (Mrs. Marisa Coulter), Daniel Craig (Lord Asriel) and Dakota Blue Richards (Lyra Belacqua). Sir Ian McKellen offers some voice work. It’s directed by Chris Weitz (American Pie 1 and 2, producer; About a Boy, writer; ), who also adapted the screenplay from Philip Pullman’s novel of the same name.
As you might already know, The Golden Compass is a subject of controversy in the Catholic Church, with the highest authority, the Pope himself, calling it a “godless” movie. It seems to have shown some early promise then tanked in North America, but is doing well overseas.
I have to say that while I have a copy of the book from years ago, I haven’t read it. But the movie’s story - which supposedly toned down the religious elements - struck me as being very odd, and I think I can see why the Pope calls it “godless”.
In many fantastical tales, characters might sometimes have a “familiar”, who is their muse, their confidant. Famliars are sentient creatures said to take the form of animals - often cats. In The Golden Compass, the explanation given (see the video clip below) is that in a parallel world, each person’s soul is not within the body but walks beside them in animal form that are called “demons”.
Why Pullman chose to call them “demons” beats me. (Assuming that is his doing and not Chris Weitz’.) And no God is ever mentioned. This might not be surprising if you know that Pullman is an avowed atheist. But a universe where there are “demons” but not god(s) seems very odd for storytelling purposes. It seems like a world without hope. This is no doubt the reason the Pope called this movie “godless”.
This huge controversy aside, I found the movie to be a mix of impressiveness and disappointment. On the plus side, the CGI creatures were incredible. On the minus side, I couldn’t follow the story. There is far too much whispering going on, especially from Nicole Kidman’s character, Mrs. Coulter. I found her character very confusing: sinister one moment and nurturing the next, without explanation or even apparent motivation. Though I’m surprised to say that Kidman does the sinister part quite well.
There also seem to be far too many protagonists. Maybe the novel reads better than the movie plays out, but The Golden Compass was one of my least favorite “fantastical” movies - computer graphics not withstanding.
If you consider potential future DVD sales, the movie might not do so bad overall. The old way of doing business only looks at the early box office receipts. But with the Internet as a potential distribution vehicle (especially with Apple entering the online movie rental business) to supplement DVD sales, The Golden Compass and other movies that don’t do well in theaters still have a chance.
Though even if they do will in after-theater sales, that doesn’t necessarily justify the making of sequels. Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman reportedly want a lot of money to appear in The Golden Compass’ sequels. Kidman has already been declared one of the most overpaid actors, and this movie won’t help if after-theater sales don’t make up for poor North American box office receipts.
Two more Pullman novels are currently being adapted into movies: The Butterfly Tattoo (2008) and The Subtle Knife (2009). The latter also features the Lyra Belacqua lead character from the Golden Compass, though I don’t know if it’s a sequel.
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8 responses so far ↓
stephanie // Jan 5, 2008 at 3:21 am
it’s amazing that you chose to write a review on a movie you were so uneducated about. i always thought journalists had to research their subject (or at least know something about it) before spewing out this kind of shit. i guess this is why you write on an online blog that people rarely read.
1. they are called daemons, not demons. as for the difference, i think this site really gets the gist: http://truthmeasure.net/daemon.htm
2. “But a universe where there are “demons” but not god(s) seems very odd for storytelling purposes.”
seriously? if daemons represent the soul, as even you grasped, then they are not evil, and are not the polar opposites of god. even if they were talking about actual demons, the devil would still be god’s counterpart.
3. “It seems like a world without hope. This is no doubt the reason the Pope called this movie “godless”.”
are you five? i liked your use of “this is no doubt” to attempt to strengthen an otherwise pathetic argument. the pope calling the movie godless has nothing to do with the daemons, but rather the way the church (in the form of the magistrate) was portrayed as something sinister, ruled by the greed and insecurity of men, rather than a higher, benevolent power. however, a world without hope? you did not watch the film.
Jon Roth // Jan 8, 2008 at 8:46 am
Stephanie, it amazes me that you have to be so personally insulting. This is a new blog, barely 3 weeks old. Obviously a lot of people don’t read it yet, because it’s new. Also, I never said I was a journalist, did I? I watched the movie and critically analyzed “perceptions” after researching as much as I could. Journalists get paid hundreds of dollars for their reviews. I’m a lowly film blogger and film student, and there’s a point of diminishing returns for me when I review each film. I still try to do my best, and I’m fine with disagreement, but personal insults are unnecessary.
And by the way, that was only a short review, but I debated with myself before actually deciding not to use “short review” in the title. I was merely covering perceptions in this one, and had intended to watch the movie a few more times before I gave a full review. (Yes, that’s my fault for not using a more appropriate title.)
And before spew and insult me, consider the difference between my perception of what other people might have felt, and my own personal feelings about the movie. You’re confusing the two. I only discussed perceptions here.
(1) Who is going to hear the difference between “demon” and “daemon” while watching a movie, especially in North America. Anyone not familiar with “daemon” as opposed to “demon” is going to assume the difference is in the accents of the actors. You can’t convince me differently, and this is the issue I was getting at. You have obviously read the book (I assume), but most moviegoers probably haven’t.
(2) Yeah, seriously. If you hear “demon” while watching a movie, are you going to think that these demons are “good”?
(3) Oh, stupid me. So I made a mistake. Why does that make me “five”? If you know anything about blogging, you know the language isn’t the same a “journalist” would use.
My pathetic argument? I reviewed the film as I saw it, as well as what I thought others might perceive it as. Despite the research that I did, I slipped re the Pope’s opinion. So sue me. I’m not a Catholic and I did my best to make an educated guess. So I’m wrong. It happens.
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lia // Feb 3, 2008 at 10:14 pm
If I remember correctly, both Craig and Kidman are tentatively signed on to do the sequels. But it would depend on the success ( of course )of the Golden Compass which has a worldwide sales to date of $326M. Japan is yet to open, and some bloggers predict (including me,lol) that it would reach $400M.
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