The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)-Amber Vilate
May 5, 2008
The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
By Amber Vilate
Fear, anger, more fear, a little more anger, definitely more fear, hope, redemption and love.
What makes a good movie? The plot? The cinematography? The acting? Is it just films made for “grown-ups” that can qualify as “good?”
Most adults wouldn’t think twice about The Spiderwick Chronicles unless they were considering taking their children to see it. To me, this is a shame. They’d be missing a good, fun, exciting romp through the world of the fae as seen from the eyes of an angry, sad boy who is seeking (whether or not he realizes it) redemption.
Based on the bestselling book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi (both of whom are quite nice and very talented – I’ve been in love with Holly Black’s writing for quite some time and I was thrilled to see this story come alive onscreen), The Spiderwick Chronicles tells the tale of a young boy and his family who have moved into a strange old house. The house is something of a family heirloom; they are allowed to live there after a divorce.
Jared Grace is angry, sad and hurt by the divorce and he acts out frequently, sometimes violently. It seems that this move is the last hope for him, as he causes his mother pain and anguish almost daily. As the movie opens, you can see the poor kid is getting the short end of the stick by being blamed for things he doesn’t do. Including stealing keys and trinkets from his mother and sister.
He soon finds a secret room full of strange things. In this room is a book, which proves to be powerful and sought after by… goblins. The kind of goblins, in fact, who, by the end of the movie, you think is entirely too powerful to be defeated.
Danger is hot on Jared’s heels as he reads the book, goblins steal his twin brother, they escape, goblins follow them home, and their sister is finally brought into the light. But that isn’t all. The danger keeps going through a clandestine trip to a mental institution, a flight on a griffin, and a battle to the death with goblins and the goblin king.
The story is, quite simply, superb. The action almost never dies in this movie, which makes for quite the thrill-ride. It’s interesting, it’s unique and it’s fun – all qualities of a good movie. Too bad it will probably not get the attention it deserves.
Sure, the acting isn’t the best, but it’s a far cry from most children’s movies and director Mark Waters (Mean Girls, Just Like Heaven) proves to me, again, that he knows what he’s doing with a movie as he leads the actors through their paces.
Freddie Highmore, of Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and August Rush, plays both twin boys, Jared and Simon Grace, and I was actually surprised that it was done by one actor (though I figured it was one). The two boys are very different and Freddie gets my applause for taking both characters to heart. He captures their essences, as described in the book series. Well done on both counts.
Mary-Louise Parker plays the mother and I’ve seen better work from her, but it’s not the worst acting by any stretch. Sarah Bolger plays the rapier-wielding sister, Mallory, and does equally as well as Freddie Highmore.
And who can forget David Strathairn (of so many good movies, I can’t name them all) who gives a good performance of Arthur Spiderwick, the man who wrote the book Jared finds. His daughter, Jared’s Aunt Lucinda, is played as an old woman by Joan Plowright (another with many, many credits to her name) and a young child by Jordy Benattar.
The cinematography (by Caleb Deschanel, who is another member of this crew with multiple amazing credits) is good – the scenery is lovely and the movie is set against a Northeastern US backdrop. In a movie with this much action, it would be easy to end up with jarring, nauseating scenes, but everything plays out smoothly and easily.
James Horner composed the music. Beautiful score. Fits very nicely with the story and characters. The music is fantastical, sad and hopeful, which showcase the theme of the movie very well.
If you haven’t given much thought to seeing this movie simply because it is a “children’s” movie, you are missing out. Yes, for some of you cynics out there, it does have a bit of a touchy-feely, warm-fuzzy ending, but it fits and it makes the effort, danger and fear worth it. It’s nice to go see a movie that shows just how much redemption is possible, even now when the world can sometimes seem harsh and cruel. Even for old cynics. Go see it. You might just be glad you did.
Copyright C. 2008 Amber Vilate
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