The BFG (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – A girl named Sophie encounters the Big Friendly Giant who, despite his intimidating appearance, turns out to be a kind-hearted soul who is considered an outcast by the other giants because, unlike them, he refuses to eat children.

My Take – Steven Spielberg is one of the best directors of all time – he has made great films of all genres for all audiences, including family films like Jurassic Park, E.T, Artificial Intelligence and Hook. Surely there’s no one better to bring Roald Dahl‘s classic book to the screen. The late children’s author known for his works such as Charlie & and the Chocolate Factory, James & the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox etc, specialized in finding magic within a modern world. He understood that children could be just as adult while the adults can be just as childish given the situation. He also understood that the world, no matter how pretty it is, can be a mean place and figured that children can take a lot of scary imagery. Stories like these have made reading fun for kids that wanted to feel like they were just as important as their parents were. While adaption did get an animated treatment back in 1989, its a surprise it took so long for this to hit the big screen. With director Steven Spielberg marking his first stint at Disney, this film seemed all set to transport us into a magical world. Yet, despite the source material, it felt like a very old-fashioned kids film which is not helped by the indistinct setting which veers in feel from modern day to Victorian. It has a lot of charm in its presentation and is aided enormously by the main performance but falls short of the source material and Spielberg’s best. Don’t get me wrong, even though I perceive this one to have many problems as a film, it has still somehow managed to charm the hell out of me. So what’s the reason? Maybe it’s in part thanks to Spielberg‘s ability to emotionally manipulate an audience and the apparent charm that comes with it or maybe it was the great audience reaction in the film screening I saw that has influenced my take on it. Do I think it’s a brilliant family film? No I don’t, yet do I believe it will have the required effect on the target audience.

The story follows the young orphan girl Sophie (Ruby Barnhill). Suffering from insomnia, Sophie keeps herself busy by reading an occasionally looking out into the night. During one look behind the curtain, she spots a giant. The giant takes her, out of the city, into the countryside, before they end up in another realm called “Giant Country”. The giant (Mark Rylance) reveals he’s a giant that refuses to eat people and in fact introduces himself as the BFG (Big Friendly Giant). The BFG’s job is to catch dreams and blow them into the heads of sleeping people. He’s friendly but his bullying colleagues in the Land of the Giants are not, liking very much the taste of ‘human beings’. The rebellious Sophie determines to jolt the BFG out of his servile state to take on his oppressors; something that will require the help of people in high places. The film successfully delivers the fun moments with some good family comedy moments. A particularly memorable set-up “whizz-banger” scene in Buckingham Palace is sure to make the kids (and most adults with a funny bone) laugh out loud. However it is in the drama that the film suffers. One of Roald Dahl‘s talents was in creating an unusual level of threat for a children’s author and this is simply missing from the film. We’re told that the other giants eat people but never come close to witnessing this on screen. As a result the bad guys more often come across as a bumbling gaggle of idiots than a source of dread. Roald Dahl takes time in the book to make us afraid of the other giants but Spielberg, possibly in search of his PG rating, declines to do so here to the detriment of the film. The film starts off great, but becomes inconsistent once in the Land of Giants. The first half is at times quite sluggish, conversely the climax feels rushed and at the same time lacking in urgency. A couple of scenes fall flat too, one does miss the heart-skipping-several-seconds impact of the Bloodbottler’s first entrance here, which is nowhere near as frightening here, and although the Frobscottle is in the book it’s overdone to overkill effect here with the otherwise visually entrancing and interesting breakfast scene for example, among st others, marred by misplaced lowbrow humor (like the farting corgis, and for being too long). I feel that the film lacks the layers that many classic fantasy films (such as E.T., Beauty and the Beast or Edward Scissorhands) have to appeal to adults as much as young children. Similarly, the sense of humor in the film could be perceived as quite childish with an emphasis on toilet humor. The children in the cinema were laughing out loud at the more low brow moments but the same couldn’t be said for me or the other adults in the auditorium. There are some emotionally and visually beautiful moments that get lost among st the silly sense of humor which I believe will limit the films lasting appeal. For all the downtime the film offers to grow the friendship between the Giant and Sophie, it also has too much going on in the second act that it almost loses itself from the plot. And not to disrespect the late Melissa Mathison, but it’s not particularly her best-written effort, as it does skew too much for kids. Not that it’s a bad thing to be exclusively child-accessible, but I could use a little more appeal to my taste.

That being said, I enjoy the banter between the BFG and Sophie dealing with the giants broken language, as it is quite a cheer to listen to. The script is always focused on Sophie & her budding relationship with the elderly but kindhearted giant, and although the former is the heart of this picture, the latter is the soul. Even those minor issues aside, this goes to show how much even the slightest of a genius’ efforts can still turn out better than anyone else. There is no denying the disappointed faces of those that expect the next E.T., but I believe that we can still appreciate the same level of heart and wonder that remains. So what’s positively good about it? I have to begin with set design because if anything has been proved with this film and Spielberg‘s last film Bridge of Spies, the people he employs are surely the best set designers in the business with him wonderfully recreating London streets where the orphanage is situated here. Spielberg‘s technical skills as a director shine here. Stunning long takes, engaging camera-work and neat storytelling really bring the fantastical tale to life. John Williams’ music score is rich in orchestration, lively, whimsical and emotion-searing, more fitting and cinematic sounding than the charming, atmospheric but somewhat very 80s soundtrack of the animated version. Best thing about the film is the titular character himself. He is a wholly likable character and brilliantly motion-captured. This is matched in every way by the performance of Mark Rylance, which has a twinkle, warm humor and heartfelt subtle nuance, bringing surprising complexity and expertly soul to a motion-capture character that could have not had any of those qualities in lesser hands as well as a rare ability of bringing meaning and nuance to a line of dialogue when many struggle to bring the same amount of believability to the page. Even though a lot would dismiss this type of animation as some type of “uncanny valley” gimmick, I believe it’s used quite well, mostly due to the physical actor involved. Speaking of the CG, this is one of those films that breaks free of Spielberg’s real-life limitations and just swoops the camera wherever it wants, issuing a new standard for CG photography. Say what you want about Spielberg, even most of his shortcomings are about as good as this. Ruby Barnhill to me was engaging as Sophie, and she has a promising future ahead of her. Really enjoyed the warm and touching chemistry between her and the BFG. While generally a better job could have been done with the rest of the giants, the acting for them is very effective particularly from a deliciously repellent Jermaine Clement as the Fleshlumpeater. Bill Hader also does well as the Bloodbottler, very different to other performances of his. Penelope Wilton is suitably sincere as the Queen, Rebecca Hall sparkles as Mary and Rafe Spall delights as Mr Tibbs. On the whole, ‘The BFG’ is a sweet, affectionate, visually awe-inspiring film, which despite being clumsy and lumbering is going to enthrall the kids and transport the rest of the viewers back to their childhood. While it isn’t among st Steven Spielberg‘s finest films and lacks the lasting endurance of his most magical works as well, it’s still a heartfelt adventure that amuses & delights in sufficient amount.