A Review of Sorts.

OK, following on from the previous post, my mood has lightened a bit. The Golden Compass wasn’t bad, although it suffered more than usual from the inevitable effect of turning a long, thoughtful novel into a short film. So much essential detail was lost that at times it wouldn’t have made sense if I hadn’t read the book.

The visuals were good, though, especially the showdown between the two bears. Lyra and Iorek came close to the heroes I made of them when I read the book, Lee Scoresby was perfect, and Seraphina even sexier than I imagined at the time. (So much so that I was half tempted to wonder whether the Holy Grail might be found somewhere in Eastern Europe.)

I just wish I hadn’t kept being reminded of the mortification I felt at the end of the trilogy. If I were minded to assume the right to forgive, I don’t think I would ever forgive Pullman for what he did to Lyra, shamelessly destroying in the last thirty pages every quality that had made her such an outstandingly compelling character. I put it down to the fact that he’s an academic and apparently in thrall to the tram line mentality.

And one interesting little point. I couldn’t help noticing how much more beautiful a raggedy 13-year-old girl could look than the excessively done up Nicole Kidman. Says something about my taste for authenticity, I suppose. I do wonder, though, how any young woman, however beautiful, can be expected to get through life with a name like Dakota Blue Richards. Doesn’t sound very authentic, does it?

And finally, Sarah showed up, which helped a lot.