Review

by Dale Grauman

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index
Previous Reviews | Send mail to The Voice

Enchanting 'Golden Compass' No 'Chronicles of Narnia'

Lyra and her friend, Roger, escape from a secret, experimental lab where gobblers sever children fom their daemons. --New Line Cinema, photo

Lyra Belacqua's universe isn't much different from our own--except when it comes to souls.

While our souls remain nestled inside our bodies, souls in Lyra's universe, called "daemons," walk and talk alongside Lyra and others embodied as various animals. "The Golden Compass," directed by Chris Weitz, chronicles the adventures of schoolgirl Lyra (Dakota Blue Richards) and her daemon, Pantalaimon (voiced by Freddie Highmore).

Lyra would do anything to follow her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), on his academic venture into the wild, arctic north. When Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman) offers her passage, Lyra jumps at the chance.

But Ms. Coulter is not all she seems, and soon Lyra is on the run. She continues north, but now to save her best friend, Roger (Ben Walker), from the mysterious child-thieving "gobblers." Wherever she goes, Lyra must beware of the wicked hand of the Magisterium. These authoritarian wretches seek to sever children from their daemons and squelch the "heresy" of free thought.

Along the way, Lyra befriends a host of fantastical characters, from a would-be king of warlike polar bears (voiced by Ian McKellen) to a smirking, silver-haired cowboy (Sam Elliott) puttering about the northern sky in a ballooned flying ship.

But most compelling of all the characters is Lyra, whose tireless pluck sees her through innumerable dangers. In a memorable moment, a group of unarmed children faces an army of mercenary Tartars and their snarling, black wolf-daemons. Lyra steps forward and spits indignantly into the snow.

"The Golden Compass," based on Phillip Pullman's novel "The Northern Lights," is a grandiose fantasy crammed with action, critters and panoramas. It looks and feels somewhat like the "Narnia" film, and in many ways surpasses it.

Like Narnia, "The Golden Compass" is allegorical. But unlike Narnia, its message is a blatant attack on the Church.

The Magisterium is clearly a negative caricature of the Church. It is composed of eelish, robed men who manipulate the masses and condemn whatever opposes their authority.

The Magisterium is prepared to murder to advance its agenda. It even has designs to invade parallel universes. Lyra intuitively distrusts the Magisterium. Her pluck often manifests itself as defiance, which the movie construes as a virtue.

One can't help but admire the strength of Lyra's character. That's precisely why I do not recommend "The Golden Compass" for young audiences. Lyra is like that kid in elementary school who is a born leader but uses those talents to convince his classmates to shoot spit wads at the teacher.

But the stakes are higher. The allegory of "The Golden Compass" seems to teach that demons are OK, the Church is flagrantly wicked, and rebellion is the answer.

The only other major problem with the movie is that it is not a self-contained unit. I won't endeavor to list here the loose ends it leaves hanging. Just know there are many, and so the story is dissatisfying.

"The Golden Compass" would be a decent fantasy show if it weren't for the underlying message. As it stands, it's an affront to Christian values. Either skip it, or leave the impressionable at home.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index
Previous Features | Send mail to The Voice