Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical (2022)- BFI London Film Festival 2022

Review

117min

Genre:       Comedy, Family, Musical

Director:     Matthew Warchus

Cast:         Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Emma Thompson…and more

Writers:     Dennis Kelly and Roald Dahl

-Synopsis-

Sent by her spiteful neglectful parents to a notorious school run by a monstrous headmistress with an iron fist, a young English girl genius is nurtured by a loving teacher and her new friends to unlock her boundless imagination and unleash her extraordinary abilities, as she unravels the secrets of her school and leads the fight to rid it of tyranny in this all singing & dancing screen adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl children’s novel.

After a melodic masterclass in bringing the beloved Dahl story to the West End and Broadway stages with acclaimed award-winning results, comedic lyricist Tim Minchin and writer Dennis Kelly reunite with director Matthew Warchus (Pride, Lungs) and team up with producer Tim Bevan (Notting Hill, Les Misérables) to give the stage musical a grand, technicolour multi-cultural big screen treatment to tickle the funny bone and rouse the spirits in edgy yet family friendly style—in true Dahlesque spirit.

Alisha Weir stars as avid reader and precocious child genius ‘Matilda Wormwood’, neglected and derided by her gaudy oblivious father (Stephen Graham) and mother (Andrea Riseborough) who try to rid themselves of her by sending their only unwanted daughter to the forebodingly named ‘Crunchem Hall’ school, where she’s placed in the crosshairs of its brutish bullying headmistress ‘Miss Trunchbull’ (Emma Thompson) intent on bending all students to her will. But this spirited young scholar won’t be so easily broken, helped by caring teacher ‘Miss Honey’ (Lashana Lynch) to unleash her extra-sensory potential and tap into an imagination that might free all her friends from an educational dictatorship.

Much like the stage play on which it’s based, and indeed the 1996 American movie adaptation of the story, ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ diverges in parts from Dahl’s 1988 novel but always stays true to its characters and its spirit, never losing sight of championing the outsider and its message about pushing back on bullies and the merits of misbehaving when bad rules are made by questionable people—the key to changing the world. In fact the hilarious and ingenious musical numbers by Tim Minchin amplify this message to glorious effect, using a diverse cast and an ensemble of child performers with the moves and voices to match, adorably doing justice to a “we don’t need no education” ethos of rebellion which would make ‘Pink Floyd’ proud, without losing any charm or sense of childhood wonder.

The dialogue and general scriptwriting meanwhile from Dennis Kelly are a sharp comedic match for the music, and an accomplished balancing act for the narrative as a whole. Delivering plenty of humour for the whole family while leaning into the darker yet still family-friendly sensibilities which separated Roald Dahl’s work from so many others, but never sacrificing heart or childlike innocence, while steering clear of banal sentimentality yet still delivering genuinely touching moments.

‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ is certainly not lacking in style either, taking its cue from the book and stage musical, plus visual inspiration from films like the ‘Paddington’ film series and indeed Wes Anderson’s work to create a brightly coloured production and costume design, only deliberately dulled for the bleak dungeon-like aesthetic of the ominous school and its de-facto ruler.

Ultimately the success of the film will be determined by how the audience connects with the titular character and the tween star tasked with bringing to life a smart, resourceful, tenacious, spirited and precocious literary creation, a true and rare girl hero of children’s literature. But Alisha Weir rises to the challenge with gusto, excelling with the loquacious musical numbers and energising an already frenetic film with a free and rebellious spirit befitting the story, leading a cast of youngsters which boasts plenty of moxie and no shortage of adorableness.

Not to be outdone by the kids, the adults of the piece admirably play their parts too, with Lashana Lynch adding bunches of heart as the school’s overloaded pillar of decency ‘Miss Honey’, while Graham and Riseborough are free to wonderfully chew up the scenery as Matilda’s miscreant parents. But it’s once again irrepressible British screen legend Emma Thompson who steals the show in physically transformative form as detestable school mistress and ex hammer-thrower ‘Miss Trunchbull’, going gloriously over the top as a colourful caricature of bitterness, bullying and abuse, and a manifestation of the systems which crush individuality—who is masterfully set up for a righteous fall.

The Bottom Line…

A triumphant big screen adaptation which captures the spirit and ethos of the classic source novel and the boundless melodic and comedic creativity of the stage musical, while adding oodles of style and spectacle, ‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ proves a delightful and adorable blend of darker tones with uplifting ones, a textbook example of how to make a modern screen musical for the whole family.

‘Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical’ is out on the 25th of November in UK cinemas, and is available from the 25th of December on Netflix.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The BFG (2016)

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.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill and Penelope Wilton among others.

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