Alice in Wonderland – 2010
** Out of ****
A sense of wonder is something which director Tim Burton is no stranger, in fact few creative minds in movies today have had such an impressive run the with the bizarre and darkly whimsical. Perhaps then it is irony at play, as Burton’s rendition of the classic novel is one his blandest efforts yet.
To Burton’s credit, as he did quite well with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory he introduces an interesting back story for Alice which frames her adventures in Wonderland. In this version, Alice is a twenty year old girl who, according to the many creatures of the underworld, visited when she was a little girl (an experience of which she has no recollection). Attending an aristocratic get-together with her family and the wealthy elite, Alice is expected to accept the proposal of a young man. Moments after his proposal however, she is off chasing that devious white rabbit and the adventure begins.
Burton himself confessed to finding previous adaptations of the novel to be too episodic, with no clearly defined narrative and here he wanted to correct that. Somewhere in that quest however, this version has emerged more pointless and rambling than ever before; there are neither real revelations about Alice’s previous experiences nor any real sense of destiny to compel the audience. There is simply the introduction of quirky or bizarre characters/creatures, one after the other and it all grows tiresome fast.
Alice is played by young Australian actress Mia Wasikowska and she is by all standards, good. But left and right she is upstaged both by larger than life characters and the visually dazzling sets. She plays Alice with the proper spirit to be certain but she becomes utterly forgettable amongst the clutter. The real standouts are Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and even more so, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Despite her bulbous head, she gives not only the best performance overall, but also the best villainous performance. (A difficult feat when you look like a Pez dispenser) As I said, Depp is great as the Hatter, and I actually wish he had showed up sooner, because the story is even duller before his arrival. One thing I will say is his whispering lisp seems to give way to a bizarre Scottish accent when he raises its voice. But perhaps bizarre is not exactly out of place in this film.
What I would call my favourite part of the film is Burton’s vision of the Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry), who I found to be mesmerizing. Also in the stellar voice line-up is Ala Rickman as the blue caterpillar, Matt Lucas as an excellent Tweedledee and Tweedledum and Michael Sheen as the white rabbit. Alas, even with such wonderful actors preset they only, at best, manage to upstage Alice. Alice in Wonderland which is in 3-D, was not originally conceived as such but was later converted. I am shocked. Alice has more in-your-face, things-flying-at-the-screen, gotcha moments than most 3-D films in conception. I do admire what was attempted here, but vision does not always equate to quality and when all is thrown down the rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland is simply a mess.
© 2010 Simon Brookfield
