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Hollywood Hues The narrative of Prince Caspian lacks build-up, writes Ervell E. Menezes
Sequels rarely measure up to the original film. An exception that comes readily to mind is Godfather II which was even better than the Marlon Brando-starrer original because director Francis Ford Coppola made it more cerebral. But in no way can we see the second C.S. Lewis book in the Narnia Chronicles come even close to the original The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. One thing in common with them is that they are directed by Andrew Adamson and scripted by Christopher Marcus and Stephen McFeely. But this big screen fantasy fails to match the depth and emotional reach of the original. While The Lion`85, thanks to its Biblical allegories, had endless charm and an uniqueness that endeared, Prince Caspian, a darker, more mature narrative, just about manages to find a place in the epic mode but its viewer attachment is minimal. In this second film, Narnia is a far more savage land that before. Lucy (Georgie Henly), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skander Keynes) and Peter (William Mosley) return to Narnia after 1300 years and have to restore the weakling Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) to his kingdom. That Prince Caspian is easily one of C.S. Lewis’ weakest characters is no secret and this shows up in the film version too. But the narrative lacks any kind of cumulative build-up and the characters remain stagnant. Considering that he is the heir-apparent and expected to make a comeback by overcoming the not-so-menacing King Miraz, we at no time see him either grown up or ever remotely commanding respect and director Andrew Adamson is not able to infuse any significant sense of drama. There is an unbecoming lack of energy in the plotting and the key characters are more like caricatures. Karl Walter Lindenlaub does his utmost to imbue the film with an element of brooding heaviness through low-lit visuals but that is not enough. Even editor Sim Evan Jones does little to enliven this sleepy fantasy which is stretched to well over two hours. The well-ordered battle scenes are impressive and so are the occasional flashes of humour but these are few and far between and hardly make up for the meandering, even lacklustre storyline and can best be compared to the proverbial two grains of wheat in bushels of chaff. The swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep (Eddie Izzard), the lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) and the wicked white witch (Tilda Swinton) are like bright shinning comets in a dark moonless night but the rest of the performances are clearly lacklustre and that is putting it mildly. May be director Adamson has had enough of Narnia because in the latter half especially he seems to be merely going through the motions. If you’ve seen and enjoyed the original, you might as well give this a miss. It is likely to blur or even dilute that healthy, invigorating ambience of the original. Remake of My Fair Lady soon
The new movie will use the original songs of the much-loved Broadway show and is to be filmed on location in the original London settings of Convent Garden, Drury Lane and Ascot Race Course. What’s more is that two of the biggest names in British cinema — Keira Knightley and Daniel Day-Lewis — have been lined up to star in the remake. Knightley and Day-Lewis are set to take on the roles of Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins, which were given notable treatments by Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn in the 1964 Oscar-winning classic, The Sunday Telegraph reported. The film is being produced by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Duncan Kenworthy, the producer of British blockbusters such as Notting Hill, Love Actually and Four Weddings and a Funeral. Sources close to the project told the British newspaper that Kenworthy was keen to get Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese or Roger Michell, the director of Notting Hill and Venus, to direct the film. "Keira is already onboard and everyone is convinced that Day-Lewis would be perfect as Higgins," one source said, whose name has not been revealed. The original, directed by George Cukor, won eight Oscars and in 2006 it was ranked the sixth-best movie musical ever. — PTI
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Here’s some good news
for movie buffs. My Fair Lady, a 1964 film adaptation of the
namesake quintessential stage musical based on George Bernard Shaw’s
play Pygmalion is to be remade.