FLOP CULTURE
New Line’s 2007 adaptation severed the soul from Lyra’s story. Could more faith in Philip Pullman’s novels have saved it?
How The Golden Compass (movie version) wound up going off course.
Why it was a good idea (on paper)
Witches and wonders, bears and battles, Dust and daemons. Like the offspring of Potter/Rings, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy seemed set to be fantasy cinema’s next chosen one. A-grade casting (Eva Green, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards…) helped point the Compass to glory.
What went wrong?
Bouts of directors’ musical chairs indicated the problems of splicing the far-reaching source matter with short-sighted studio demands. After Tom Stoppard’s reportedly stuffy script was scrapped, writerdirector Chris Weitz’s script was filleted for a flip, fast ride with zero respect for viewers’ intelligence.
Pullman’s jabs at Catholicism were diluted for a blunt critique of catch-all dogma, his narrative sprawl hacked – no subtle knives here – for a bitty, verbose two-hour rush with the end lopped off. Nicole Kidman made thin work of manylayered villain Mrs. Coulter, while the studio crassly tried to ‘do a
Rings’ by hiring Ian McKellen to voice big bear Iorek Byrnison (Weitz wanted Nonso Anozie). “Run, child,” indeed.
Redeeming feature
Alexandre Desplat’s score and Kate Bush’s song impressed. Alongside an appealingly curious Richards, Green and Sam Elliott steal scenes. The effects won an Oscar, the art direction a nomination. Plus, those brawling bears didn’t muck about.
What happened next?
“The Catholic Church happened,” claimed Elliott, blaming religious protests for under-performance. But Pullman’s fans were equally displeased by Compass’ hedgebetting take. Poor US takings may have prompted New Line’s merger with Warner Bros. Weitz fared better with Twilight: New Moon, while Richards struggled in another fantasy (The Secret Of Moonacre) before a Dust-free TV gig in Skins.
Should it be remade?
Impeccably cast, carefully adapted, gorgeously mounted. Proof that an attentive, slow-burn approach was the key after all, Jack Thorne’s BBC adap answers that one.