Theres Hats And Hearts But Its Hardly Alice At All...
The hottest film since Avatar, and already outselling its launch weekend, Alice in Wonderland or at least Tim Burton’s take on it was always bound to draw a crowd.
the film sees Alice grown from a puzzled and curious child to the aloof and free thinking young woman off to an arranged marriage. He independent notions on life seem slightly at odds with the pre-suffrage age, perhaps making this starry eyed girl, played well by Mia Wasikowska an early feminist, particularly in a moment where she imagines how curious it would be should all the women be wearing trousers and the men dresses.
Set a great deal later than Disney’s first take on Alice, she has all but forgotten the fantasy world of ‘Underland’ and its shockingly colorful characters. What follows is a struggle; a struggle for Alice to return to being the open minded and bold girl of her youth and a struggle to return order to the oppressed kingdom of Underland. The imagery of the original book is rife and hinted at but at no time is this a direct adaptation of the book.
Others have slighted this visually perfect film (with my geeky eyes loving the red card knights designs, having been tinged with experiences of crossover game ‘Kingdom Hearts’) for its action ridden third act and its flagrant futterwaken, though the whole film is a set up to this final confrontation.
As the lore of the land is told, hand in hand with the great nonsense poem of The Jabberwocky, holes in the narrative start to seep in. While Depps performance of the demented haberdasher is otherwise perfect with its soaring manic highs and fits of irrational rage he had a tendency to fly off into a growling William Wallace style marauding scotsman stereotype. While this gives him an excuse to brandish a claymore and wear a kilt in the films eventual combat scene it seemed so unnecessary and detached from the character.
Helena Bonham Carter’s Performance of the slaughter happy tyrant, the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen as a bratty woman with a spoil little girl slur works so well from her first appearance and throughout along with the fiendish Knave of Hearts played by the underrated Crispin Glover.
It goes without saying that the mostly English voice cast were wonderful with Matt Lucas also contributing his face to the contrary twins the Tweedles(Dum and Dee). Even though Barbara Windsor gives a consistent performance as the swashbuckling Dormouse alongside a twitchy march hare she is upstaged dramatically by Stephen Fry’s Cheshire Cat and the droll wisdom of Alan Rickmans Abasalom, the blue caterpillar who not just the mouths of the characters but almost vocal puppeteers through their performances. You could almost hear the gestures of Frys cat kneading the fabric between his toes as he bid ‘farewell sweet hat’ in an amazingly animated scene beside the Hatter. Anne Hathaway’s hands off pacifist alchemist White Queen had a faint waif like quality that saw her almost drift in and out of each scene with her hands perpetually in the air gliding along on a breeze. These hands, always held aloft seemed constantly ready to add a pinch of something or gently toss an ingredient at any moment which worked well in the allegedly Nigella Lawson inspired potion scene but otherwise made her seem scared to touch anything. Christopher Lee’s performance seemed fairly pointless with its ridiculously brief length hardly doing him justice.
Mia’s performance of the titular Alice was a grand leading lady debut but seemed eerily similar to Claire Danes’ Yvanne in 2007′s Stardust with their wide eyed confusion. Similarities aside Mia’s performance as a bold, courageous and utterly bonkers protofeminist was solid in every sense of the word. My only request is that Tim Burton return to the franchise to film an actual adaptation like the one audiences were teased with in an all too brief flashback. Though I will say, Watching the deliciously dark and Jabberwock charred Underland of Burton is itself an utterly unique and enjoyable experience.
