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Film review

'Narnia' tests the imagination

It also tests the patience of viewers. The best parts of the film version of C.S. Lewis' book occur in the final 30 minutes.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published December 8, 2005

[Photo: Disney]

White Witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton) promises to make Edmund (Skandar Keynes) king of Narnia in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Contrary to preview trailers, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a quietly epic fantasy. Andrew Adamson's film only resembles the Lord of the Rings trilogy - with a bit of The Passion of the Christ tossed in - during the final half-hour, a long wait for anyone who hasn't read C.S. Lewis' book.

Before that, Adamson's movie is a gently moving tale of childish imagination replacing real-life problems. It isn't far removed from Zathura in that regard, with much stronger emotional and historical resonance. Fans of the book, for literary or theological reasons, will be satisfied. Others may be puzzled by the fervent anticipation for Adamson's adaptation.

The core of the story is four very ordinary English children separated from their parents during World War II. They're taken into the mansion of a reclusive professor Lewis patterned after himself. The excellent 1993 film Shadowlands profiled Lewis offering similar haven to a woman and her children who inspired him to write the Narnia series.

Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley) is the youngest and most appealing, with a face expressing innocent curiosity. During a game of hide-and-seek, she discovers a large wooden wardrobe and climbs inside among racks of fur coats. Lucy goes deeper into the closet and magically exits the back into a wintry mystical world called Narnia.

She meets a faun named Tumnus (James McAvoy) who warns her about the White Witch Jadis (Tilda Swinton), who claims to rule Narnia and doesn't like humans invading her territory. Lucy escapes back to reality where her brothers Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Peter (William Moseley) and sister Susan (Anna Popplewell) don't believe her story.

Eventually they all wind up going through the wardrobe to Narnia as Lucy's imagination becomes contagious. Edmund gets separated from the group, lured by Jadis' promise to make him Narnia's king, a notion that appeals to his insecurity as a middle child. Rescuing Edmund becomes his siblings' quest, for which they seek the assistance of a messianic lion named Aslan, superbly computer-generated and voiced by Liam Neeson.

Aslan keys the movie's appeal to Christian viewers, which Disney is mining with special screenings and grass roots marketing for churches. He's a Jesus figure who sacrifices his life to save the Pevensie children then rises from the dead to battle Jadis' evil forces. The character sprang from Lewis' acceptance of Christianity after a lifetime of agnosticism.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe doesn't gain momentum until Aslan appears, when the analogies to Christianity bring meatier drama and majestic action sequences. The last act sharply contrasts with everything preceding it, which can be considered a blessing or a curse. Adamson's movie is sleepwalking, although with admirable grace, until the lion roars.

That's when Adamson dives into the special effects and theological symbolism viewers are waiting for. Until then, the digital filmmaking that allows McAvoy to be a deer from the waist down and beavers to speak are merely teases. Aslan and his centaur general push the conceit into a marvelous realm, and the diverse grotesqueness of Jadis' minions are memorable. The parade of creatures overwhelms the delicate family drama, but pleases the eye until the Pevensies and the audience are brought back to reality.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe isn't a bad movie; it's too benign to create hard feelings. But it isn't very exciting except for the final reels. Its acceptance among young viewers in a movie era ruled by superheroes and Harry Potter fantasies is questionable. Lewis wrote seven Narnia books that Disney optioned for production, but plans for a successful franchise probably don't have a prayer.

Grade: B-

Director: Andrew Adamson

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, James Cosmo

Screenplay: Ann Peacock, Andrew Adamson, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, based on the novel by C.S. Lewis

Rating: PG; scary images, violence

Running time: 135 min.

[Last modified December 7, 2005, 16:23:43]