The Big Whinge

Northern Lights

I have been looking forward to the film adaptation of one of my favourite books, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, and had been dismayed by rumours Dakota Fanning had been cast as Lyra Belacqua, one of the main characters.

It made about as much sense as casting Haley Joel Osment (Sixth Sense) as Harry Potter, as is rumoured to have been Steven Spielberg's recommendation, if he had won the gig to direct the films.

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) is a story of the corrupting power of organised religion, a complex tale that belies its appearance as a children's book. I could read these books over and over. If you are the sort of person who protested at the inclusion of Harry Potter in school libraries, here's another author to add to your book burning list.

Anyway the good news is Dakota Fanning is NOT going to play Lyra - it's another Dakota, Dakota Blue Richards. A real English girl, hopefully with Grit. Dakota Fanning's limited acting range of lip-trembling, pleading eyes and manufactured precociousness could never have brought Lyra to life.

Hollywood child stars are generally not convincing as children on screen - Macauley Culkin acts as a chilling reminder. Is it the American film industry environment that accelerates them through childhood? Or is it the cliche of a young child / old soul combination hasn't lost its appeal to the American movie heavyweights yet?

In either case, these artificially ripened children are about as appealing as the bright red but essentially flavour-free tomatoes at Woolworths. I had to grit my teeth to sit through all of War of the Worlds (resisting the temptation to put the DVD on fast forward with subtitles) and spent most of it hoping Dakota Fanning's character would be killed off. Pronto. Preferably in a way that matched the amount of pain watching the film brought me.

posted by Yarravillean @ 2:44 pm