A ravishing fantasy with a stark message
Good news: this visually captivating adaptation of Philip Pullman’s muchloved source material has toned down the frantic pace and flashy effects that rather undermined the first outing.
As we pick up with our testy heroine Lyra (Dafne Keen) and adorable daemon Pan in series two, the mood is one of mystery as she gets to grips with landing in the faded grandeur of a city called Cittàgazze and meets Will (Amir Wilson), a kindred lost soul.
Will’s the light to Lyra’s shade and the chemistry between Wilson and Keen gives this an essential emotional cornerstone when all the talk of parallel worlds connected by windows and the meaning of dust threatens to tip over into pretentious gobbledigook. For all the sophisticated dialogue and ravishing production values, there are times when the plot feels more like a moral maze than an actual drama. But what HDM is asking you to do is plot your own path through that maze. Ruth Wilson’s lip-curling Mrs Coulter is the obvious baddie but in truth the real root of evil is the enigmatic Magisterium, an apparently benign force which seeks to control all behaviour.
In an age when personal freedoms are being curtailed on every front, this quiet message deserves to be heard.