A GIANT UNDERTAKING
Phizzwizards, frobscottle and more
Roald Dahl has been adapted by the best of them. The Welsh writer, who died in 1990, has inspired directors as diverse as Danny DeVito (Matilda) and Alfred Hitchcock (Lamb to the Slaughter, made for TV). Wes Anderson gave us Fantastic Mr. Fox. Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka. A generation later, so did Johnny Depp.
The latest of his works to receive the big-screen treatment is The BFG, directed by Steven Spielberg. The title refers to a big, friendly giant, although he does not at first come off as overly amicable to young Sophie (Ruby Barnhill), plucked from her orphanage bedroom like Fay Wray in King Kong, and then ★★ ★ out of 5 Starring: Ruby Barnhill, Mark Rylance Director: Steven Spielberg Duration: 117 minutes carried to a far-off realm where giants live.
BFG, played in a motioncapture performance by Mark Rylance (last seen in Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies), is actually more of an SFG. The 24-footer is known as “runt” to the other, much taller giants, led by Jemaine Clement as Fleshlumpeater, “the horriblest of them all.” The BFG is the only one who doesn’t eat “human beans.”
Dahl’s fantasy worlds are not a place for the faint of spelling — or the feint of spelling, come to think of it. In addition to such improper names as Bloodbottler and Gizzardgulper, the giants’ land is known for its snozzcumbers (nasty veggies), phizzwizards (good dreams) and frobscottle, a soft drink in which the bubbles go down instead of up, with all the digestive complications that implies.
In Spielberg’s hands, it is also a place of fantastic set design. The BFG’s home is decorated with scrap and castoffs — British phone boxes, highway signs, airplane wings, circus tents, steam engines and sailing ships, all repurposed for his largerthan-life activities. This includes harvesting dreams and occasionally passing them along to children in our world.
In fact, the BFG’s lair — and the fun of playing spot-therecycled-salvage — is the best part of the story. The director, working with writer Melissa Mathison, sticks closely to Dahl’s novel, with only a few additions that suggest a Disney theme-park ride in the planning stages. But the story’s heart is too shallow to ever really soar. With the BFG something of a simpleton and Sophie wise and mature beyond her years, there’s never a true meeting of the minds.
There is a welcome change of pace in the film’s final act, however.
Fans of the book will know that Sophie seeks the aid of a very important person, played here by Penelope Wilton. (Rebecca Hall as said person’s very important assistant is somewhat wasted in the role.)
Here is where the BFG spends time in our society — the telescope is turned the other way ’round, and the giant enjoys an all-he-can-eat Lilliputian breakfast.
So there’s much to see but less to feel in this adaptation. The kids should be suitably amazed, although the youngest ones may quake at the carnivorous giants.
Their elders may enjoy the film’s technical achievements, without ever quite losing sight of the fact that’s exactly (and merely) what they are watching. Larger thanLIFE