The Golden Compass

This big budget fantasy caused a bit of controversy over it’s perceived anti-Church message, albeit apparently much toned down from the original novel by Philip Pullman, but honestly if I had read about the protests and complaints I’d have never noticed it, nor did TS1.

We both enjoyed The Golden Compass. The first of a trilogy, this movie introduces us to 12 year old heroine Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) and launches her on an adventure to, well, save free will across all the Earths in the many parallel universes in existence. The controversy is that she’s saving it from the Magisterium, essentially a worldwide church that also is the secular political power. Lyra’s uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig, in his second big post-Bond debut role) is the scientist who figured out how to travel between Earths and the Magisterium plans to crush him and use his innovation to extend their grubby grasp.

Lyra isn’t about to let that just happen so its a good thing she’s no ordinary 12 year old orphan girl. Not only is she smart and courageous, Lyra also has (and understands how to use, a rare skill) the last Alethiometer, a special compass-like device that shows her the true answer to any question she poses to it.

The big adventure begins when Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) shows up at the university where her uncle has left her in the care of his fellow researchers. Coulter knows that Lyra is special and probably the child named in an unspecified prophecy and she’s also plugged in right to the top of the Magisterium so when she asks that Lyra accompany her on a trip to the frigid north (no child labor laws on this Earth) no one has the nerve to say no.

We also get good performances from Sam Elliot, in all his gray-haired, Texas drawl glory as an airship pilot he joins Lyra’s quest, Eva Green (Craig’s Casino Royale love interest) as the queen of the good witches, Ian McKellen as the voice of a princely bear (this world’s bears are sentient but do not have souls as humans do) who also joins with Lyra, Christopher Lee and Derek Jacobi as two of the Magisterium’s high councilors, veteran Brit character actor Jim Carter as head of the rebellious Gyptians (who also join with Lyra, for a little girl she gets lots of adults to sign up without as much as a fluttering of her eyelashes) and Ben Walker as Lyra’s best mate Roger.

I thought Chris Weitz did a good job with the screenplay and direction of The Golden Compass. Its a very different kind of movie from his previous work, none of which were fantasies or even big budget actioners: The American Pie farces and About a Boy. As a science fiction fan I’m probably more disposed to accept the fantastical elements than most but Weitz did well to avoid lapses of logic that be really annoying to viewers like me, and he avoided the trap of trying to explain every little detail (e.g., the odd gyroscopicish devices that seemed to power airships and ground vehicles).

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