Review: Alice In Wonderland

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Stars: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mia Wasikowska, Matt Lucas | Written by Tim Burton & Linda Woolverton | Directed by Tim Burton

Due to a clash with Glasgow FrightFest, we couldn’t attend the screening last Thursday of Alice in Wonderland, so we sent along our intrepid guest reviewer Ben Mortimer. Here are his thoughts:

There are moments in Burton’s Alice In Wonderland that hark back to some of the high points of Burton’s career. Little details and flourishes reminiscent of Sleepy Hollow, bizarre caricatures, as strange and idiosyncratic as any in Edward Scissorhands, and, in Alice Kingsley the strongest and most compelling female character Burton has created since BeetleJuice’s Lydia Deetz.

Unfortunately it also recalls some of Burton’s lowest moments. Many of the worst elements of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory appear, including the over reliance on CGI over practical effects, and a general feeling of Burton being torn between the need to make a film that can be shown to very young children, and his own, darker vision.

There is also the issue of Johnny Depp. Before Pirates of the Caribbean turned him into a megastar, Depp could turn his hand to just about any role asked of him. His incredible talent, combined with Burton’s vision allowed him to create characters that were truly distinct. Unfortunately in this instance his portrayal of The Mad Hatter feels like he’s simply playing Willy Wonka with a (marginally) less annoying accent.

The biggest problem with the film though, is the scale of the story that Burton, and screenwriter Linda Woolverton have created. By sending Alice on a quest to confront The Jabberwocky, they may have given her a clearly defined arc, but they have also given the story an ‘epic’ feel that simply doesn’t work. At its worst moments, this, combined with the poor quality of some of the animation, makes the film feel like a low-rent version of Lord of the Rings.

The sheer number of supporting characters also causes the film difficulty. Burton is at his best with a handful of well developed characters. Unfortunately here he has so many to juggle that most of them end up being one dimensional, and serve only to advance the plot. This is particularly true of the White Queen, played by a criminally underused Anne Hathaway, who simply potters around waiting for Alice to appear.

What saves the film, however, is the central performance by Mia Wasikowska as Alice. Utterly captivating, and a joy to watch, her performance is excellent, allowing the character to mature, both physically and emotionally throughout the film. Given the technical difficulty of acting against green screen, it is remarkable that the relatively inexperienced Wasikowska’s performance is so good. It would be a real surprise if this film doesn’t serves as a launch pad for an incredibly successful career.

Far from Burton’s best work, Alice In Wonderland is still an enjoyable film. It may not be a masterpiece, and it lacks any real emotional connection, but Wasikowska makes the film worth watching, and given the generally low standard of films this year, it’s certainly above average.