Precious is a new-style weepie but one that is much more bracing than depressing
Precious
Theatre
Ian McKellen is captivating throughout. He delights in the play’s gallows humour, yet is also maudlin and poignant
Waiting for Godot
Theatre
Slight quibbles notwithstanding, this will set the West End’s stock riding high
Enron
Utterly, utterly brilliant. You really are in for a treat
Though 'Trilogy' has won rave reviews, I personally found myself exasperated after about an hour
We went on a quiet sunday evening and the food was excellent, but the experience let down by the service and ambiance
London,
Derek Malcolm's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Mark Waters.
Cast: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn
Description: The Grace family move away from the big city to a dilapidated mansion called Spiderwick Estate. Although they are initially unimpressed with their new home, twin brothers Jared and Simon soon find themselves immersed in a magical world, as they team up with their sister Mallory to investigate a series of strange happenings.
Country: US. 2008. 95mins
Playing it by the book: Freddie Highmore plays twins Jared and Simon, whose troubles begin when they open an old volume
This fantasy adventure culled from the books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black is filled with creatures from the nether-world. Some of them are threatening but, since The Spiderwick Chronicles is clearly aimed at younger children, nothing untoward ever happens.
What we see in Mark Waters's film is attractive, colourful and slightly weird. Parents taking the kids will have a better time than with the recent Golden Compass, even if it doesn't match up to the triumphant Harry Potter series.
The story revolves around the three Grace children, Jared and his twin brother Simon (both played by Freddie Highmore), and their older sister, Mallory (Sarah Bolger).
They and their recently separated mother, Helen (Mary-Louise Parker), move into the isolated Spiderwick Estate, the former home of their great, great uncle, Arthur (David Strathairn). Creepy things start to happen.
At first there is just the house "brownie" (voiced by Martin Short) who seems reasonably harmless.
But when the kids find and open Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You, things get scarier. If the hidden fairy world falls into the wrong hands, it will open a Pandora's Box of terror - and lots of CG effects. Nick Nolte's monster arrives looking like the children's father before transforming himself into Mr Beastly, determined to grab hold of the book and its secrets.
The Spiderwick Chronicles isn't particularly successful when attempting to illustrate its subsidiary theme: the mark made on the children by Mother's divorce. But it does illustrate the strange world summoned up by the old book with some technical resource. I've never seen some many goblins in my life.
It is always difficult for actors to perform in front of or behind the effects.
But all the cast do as well as they can - and when Joan Plowright, as Arthur's elderly wife (he's 125, by the way), comes on during the finale with her beguiling smile, you know the film will end happily. You may troop out contently, too, if you don't expect too much.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I've always rated Derek Malcolm's reviews and make a point of logging on to read them on-line, but in this particular case I do wonder just how closely he was following the film or whether he even went to see it. It's not that I disagree with his verdict, but he makes two howlers: Nick Nolte, the baddie, does indeed pretend to be the kiddiwinks father, but not towards the beginning of the film as Derek seems to imply, but towards the end. The second howler is even bigger: Joan Plowright is not Arthur Spiderwick's wife but his daughter. These are two relatively small points but such small points can shake one's trust in a reviewer's judgement.
- Patrick Powell, London SW5
I think you'll find that Joan Plowright plays his daughter, despite how you may wish for a darker more incestuous plot it's a lot more innocent than that.
Kudos to Freddie Highmore though, as I thought his slightly more geeky twin was played by a different actor altogether.
- Joe Brown, London, UK
Morning:
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