When I first heard that New Line Cinema was making a movie of Philip Pullman’s classic novel The Golden Compass, I was wary. “Oh no,” I thought, “here we go again: another big-budget fantasy movie, high on the visuals and low on the character development, with enough material from the book to placate fans but not enough heft to stand on its own two feet.”
In some ways, The Golden Compass is just that. But the film is redeemed by its charming and talented cast, especially Dakota Blue Richards, who plays the young heroine, Lyra.
The Golden Compass is the first of three fantasy books (sometimes referred to as the His Dark Materials trilogy) by the British novelist. The book tells the story of a young girl named Lyra Belacqua, who lives in a universe slightly different from our own. In Lyra’s world, each person is connected to a daemon, a creature that represents his or her soul and takes the shape of an appropriate animal. Other fantasy elements include talking warrior bears, flying witches, a mysterious phenomenon called “Dust” and the title’s golden compass, which can tell a skilled user the truth about anything.
As the story begins, a shadowy group nicknamed the Gobblers is kidnapping children and carting them off to the snowy northern regions. Lyra, who is also unwittingly at the center of a mysterious prophecy, vows to rescue her kidnapped best friend and sets off on an epic journey to the north.
Needless to say, the story’s fantastical elements provide golden (no pun intended) opportunities for cinematic special effects, and the makers of The Golden Compass admirably rise to the task. The Oxford University of Pullman’s alternate reality looks both newer and older than our version, with ultra-modern glass buildings nestled alongside real and imaginary gothic cathedrals. A kick-ass polar bear fight near the film’s climax made the audience at my screening break into spontaneous applause.
The many talking animals of the film are beautifully created, and they fit seamlessly into the world of the real life actors. Here the cast proves a major asset, as Freddie Highmore (Pantalaimon) and Ian McKellen (Iorek Byrnison) give rich and nuanced voices to the most important animated characters.
The cast in general is uniformly fine. Nicole Kidman is perfect as the dangerously seductive Mrs. Coulter and Daniel Craig smolders appropriately as Lord Asriel. Sam Elliott nearly steals the show as Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby, especially during banter with his sassy hare daemon, voiced by Kathy Bates. Sterling British actors Christopher Lee and Derek Jacobi are woefully underused as a pair of nameless baddies from the Magisterium, the mysterious quasi-religious organization that kidnaps children and hunts Lyra.
Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra, though, is the real reason the film works on any level beyond its special effects. She seems perfectly at home talking to animated bears and daemons, and gives Lyra just the right blend of naivete, spunk and tomboy-ness. “Nobody can make me be a lady,” she brags. Her likeability and believability are especially important because despite all the movie magic parading around her, The Golden Compass is at its core really Lyra’s story.
Director and screenwriter Chris Weitz has clearly chosen to focus on Lyra’s personal journey rather than on some of Pullman’s more spiritual or philosophical themes. For instance, he delays revelations about Lyra’s family until near the end of the movie so that they become part of the film’s climax.
The Golden Compass is an enjoyable two hours, thanks to its charming cast and beautiful visuals. Fans of Philip Pullman won’t be disappointed, even if, as with most screen adaptations, the film version doesn’t quite deliver the book’s level of depth or character development.