The BFG (2016)

Review

117min

Genre:      Family, Adventure, Fantasy

Director:   Steven Spielberg

Cast:        Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton…and more

Writers:    Melissa Mathison and Roald Dahl… and more

-Synopsis-

An English orphan girl forms an unlikely bond with a friendly outcast giant who refuses to eat people like the rest of his kind, together they embark on a perilous adventure across distant lands and dreams in this lavish Spielberg and Disney adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl children’s novel.

No one could accuse Steven Spielberg of not being in touch with his inner child, despite ranging out into dark historical dramas; but with the help of ex-wife and co-writer the late Melissa Mathison, his 1st collaboration with Disney amounts to an enchanting projection of one of our favourite childhood stories onto the silver screen.

Recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance stars as “The Big Friendly Giant” himself; the only soft-natured member of his kind who travels from the mythical “Giant Country” to London, secretly cultivating people’s dreams. There he meets “Sophie”, played by newcomer young Ruby Barnhill; a spirited young orphan whom he takes as his captive but soon becomes his partner, in a quest to free themselves and the world of the brutish giants who plague it.

Unsurprisingly ‘The BFG’ is a visually impressive piece of work, with sterling production designs and impressive visual effects; particularly in terms of the “BFG” himself. Brought to life by next-level motion capture and Rylance’s performance; which are so complimentary and convincing that it just looks like they stretched him like taffy and slapped on some makeup, allowing him to provide a captivating performance jam-packed with humanity, alongside Barnhill’s delightful movie debut as “Sophie”.

The adaptation balances the heart-warming nature of the central friendship, a meeting of two different but similar good-natured outcast characters, with action and plenty of humour; the scenes featuring the grotesque giants and the meeting with the Queen being highlights of physical and slapstick comedy.

The distinct language of the “BFG” is also particularly amusing; but as some of the critics have highlighted, Spielberg’s ‘The BFG’ is devoid of the darker nature of Roald Dahl’s work. It’s obvious that this is a Disney film, but it’s far less touching than you might expect; there’s a lot of “sweetness” in the story, some may even say it’s a little too sugary, but in the hands of a master craftsman is never corny or over sentimental.

Unlike 1971’s ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’, which despite the objection of “purists” paints a zany and unique interpretation of Dahl’s original work; ‘The BFG’ is very much a straight adaptation, albeit with a sanitized hue and slightly different ending.

This is every inch a children’s film, and not a multi-layered one like the many excellent recent Disney/Pixar animations; as such it might have limited appeal to adult audiences, beyond the absolutely mesmerizing visuals that is, particularly for those who haven’t read or don’t remember the book.

Nevertheless we must once again tip our hats to the range and fearlessness of a master filmmaker; after all, the man who directed ‘E.T.’ also directed ‘Saving Private Ryan’, and the man who made ‘Schindler’s List’ also just magically brought ‘The BFG’ to the silver screen. So for all the shortcomings of a film which may not be one of his most memorable, we again salute cinema’s “dreamer-in-chief” for creating movie magic.

The Bottom Line…

Although not quite as dark or substantial as we hoped from an adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic; ‘The BFG’ is a visually mesmerizing children’s fantasy adventure which is more than enchanting and just about charming enough for the rest of the family, thanks to expert direction from the great Steven Spielberg which captures excellent lead performances.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Jungle Book (2016)

Disney’s CGI-heavy 21st century version of Rudyard Kipling’s iconic story, following the fortunes of an orphan who’s raised in the jungle by his talking animal friends in this epic fable featuring an all-star cast of voices from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.

Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Neel Sethi, Bill Murray and Ben Kingsley among others.

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