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Sam Neill

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – Tell Me Who I Am

July 2, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Growing up can be difficult enough without people telling you who they think you are.

Written and directed by Will Gluck (Easy A), Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is an enjoyable romp through the English countryside and city that never loses its heart. Balancing the outlandishly silly and simple charm, Gluck has created a sequel worthy of the original film that should entertain both children and their parents alike. Adding to the film’s effectiveness are the voice cast who are so star-studded that one will likely be shocked by some of the names attached during the end credits. (Admittedly though, other than Corden himself, one would have a difficult time identifying the other actors throughout the film strictly by their performances.)

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway takes us back to McGregor’s garden for the wedding of Bea and Thomas (Rose Byrne and Dohmnall Gleeson). Though they have no kids of their own, Bea and Thomas have developed a makeshift family with the rabbits and other animals and all seems well in their abode. Even so, despite the fact that he wants to be a good rabbit, Peter (James Corden) can’t seem to break free from his reputation of causing trouble. Then, when Bea gets a call from a publishing company about her book, the family hops into the truck and travels to the city. Suddenly out of the garden, Peter finds himself in a world where being a rascal is celebrated. After he meets Barnabas (Lenny James), an old friend of his father, Peter is invited into the criminal underworld (well, for bunnies that is) and must decide what type of rabbit he wants to be.

In some ways, The Runaway is an odd take on the franchise. On the one hand, it doesn’t always feel like the books that were read to me as a child. With my young ears, those simple tales about animals learning lessons about growing up at the farm felt almost thought-provoking with their innocence. However, the film adaptation feels like a different animal entirely. Like the first film, Runaway is filled with energy and life with an eye on pop culture and modern sensibilities. On the surface, that style of vigorous storytelling style feels like it should be incongruous with the original. 

However, on the other hand, somehow Gluck blends the two styles very well together and creates something both fun and honest. Even with its urban environment and life, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway still manages to charm and delight. Instead of losing its innocence at the hands of the big, bad city, Runaway manages to bring the rural purity along for the ride. There’s an intentional desire on behalf of Gluck and his team to allow the heart of the Potter characters to remain true to the characters, despite their change in setting.

In fact, that’s very much the point of the story itself.

As Bea’s stories about Peter become a local success, she catches the eye of major publisher, Nigel Basil-Jones (David Oyelowo). Nigel loves her stories yet he also believes they can make the property even more accessible to the masses by steering the characters into increasingly wild scenarios. For Nigel, success is the standard and that can be achieved if Bea is willing to make a few compromises to her material along the way. (After all, who wouldn’t want to see rabbits in space?)

However, are these changes true to Bea’s characters ? Although fame is knocking on their garden door, Bea and Thomas begin to ask themselves whether it’s worth the cost of their integrity. To them, losing the soul of their characters would demonstrate a lack of authenticity to the stories that they had created. (This is also referenced with a hilarious wink at the camera when the rabbits suggest that these types of stories are often adapted poorly, ‘usually by some cocky American’.)

At the same time, Peter is undergoing somewhat of an identity crisis as well. Having been labelled as the ‘bad seed’ of the group, Peter is left despondent. While he’s always known that he’s a little mischievous, he has never thought of himself to be a villain. However, his new label leaves him feeling lost. If others see him as the bad guy, maybe he’s wrong about himself. Then, after meeting Barnabas, Peter is led to explore his own ‘dark side’ to see if he’s really as bad as other’s say. 

Held up against one another, both stories offer slightly different takes on what it means to find out who you are. In The Runaway, Bea and Peter must both ask themselves tough questions about the quality of their character. In this way, the film becomes somewhat of a coming-of-age story as the two wrestle with whether or not the allure of a carefree life of success outweighs the concessions that they must make to get there.

Hopping along with youthful exuberance, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is a delightful film with humour and heart. Though this seems like an unlikely take on the material at first, Runaway is a delightful addition to the franchise that expands the world yet maintains its soul. Even if Peter may say that “[he] didn’t think they’d get this far”, I would welcome the chance to return to McGregor’s garden one more time should the opportunity arise.

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway is available on demand on Friday, July 2nd, 2021.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews, VOD Tagged With: Beatrix Potter, Daisy Ridley, David Oyelowo, Domhnall Gleeson, Hayley Atwell, james corden, Lennie James, Margot Robbie, Peter Rabbit, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway, Rose Byrne, Sam Neill, Sia, Sony, Will Gluck

The Daughter – The Sins of the Father

January 27, 2017 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

Do lies undermine lives—or does the discovery of the truth bring ruination? In The Daughter, an Australian adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, Christian (Paul Schneider) returns home after several years abroad for his father Henry’s (Geoffrey Rush) wedding to the much younger Anna (Anna Torv). The estrangement between father and son has tension enough, but when Christian decides to spend his time with old friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie), Oliver’s wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto), and daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young) the distance between Christian and Henry seems to widen even more. As Christian learns more about Charlotte, he uncovers a secret that could tear apart Oliver’s family—and his own.

There is much going on in the background that impacts the main plot of the film. Henry is the owner of a lumber mill which is an important employer in this logging town. But he has just announced that the mill will be closing (costing Oliver his job). As Henry plans for an elaborate wedding, most of the people around him are scrambling to find a future. As Christian tries to bridge these two worlds his animosity towards his father becomes obvious.

There are also wounded animals in the film, cared for by Oliver’s father Walter (Sam Neill). The most to notable is a duck wounded by Henry early in the film. As the film progresses many of the characters will be emotionally wounded, all tracing back to Henry’s actions years before, but only because of Christian’s action as he uncovers the secrets and lies from the past.

The truth has been buried for years. Are these people happier or better off because Christian brings them the truth he has discovered? It is not unimportant that he is motivated by his malice towards his father. In this, the pain that is brought into people’s lives rests with him, even though Henry is culpable for the origin of the problems.

The difference between the two is that Henry acts out of indifference. Just as when he shoots the duck, he really doesn’t pay attention to what harm he may cause. With the duck, he just turns it over to Walter. With the past, he arranges things to be hidden away. As the mill closes down, his wedding seems to be a bit ostentatious for a community in turmoil. But Christian acts out of spite. He knows the damage he is doing, but plows ahead to create emotional chaos. Even when asked by some involved to spare the innocent, he cannot stop himself from revealing anything that will spoil lives.

What I found disappointing in the film is the lack of any kind of redemption. The past is not redeemed. None of the people involved find any redemption. Christian does not find any satisfaction for the sins of his father—he only adds more people to the list of those who can trace their pain to Henry. These are wounds that may never heal. Then again, sometimes even a wounded duck may learn to fly again.

Photos by Mark Rogers, courtesy of Kino Lorber

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Australia, dysfunctional family, Ewen Leslie, Geoffrey Rush, Henrik Ibsen, Odessa Young, Paul Schneider, Sam Neill, Simon Stone, The Wild Duck

Hunt for the Wilderpeople – Foster Family Values

June 24, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“Me and this fat kid
We ran and ate and read books.
And it was the best!”

In Hunt for the Wilderpeople, an urban foster child is placed with a rural couple. It doesn’t seem like a very good fit. Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is described by the child services worker (Rachel House) as “a real bad egg”. He has a record of many crimes and many placements that didn’t work. Bella Faulkner (Rima Te Wiata) is optimistic that all will be well. Her husband Hec (Sam Neill) seems less convinced. Soon, however, Bella’s unconditional love and acceptance helps Ricky bond with his new “Aunty” and “Uncle”.

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But when Bella dies suddenly, child services plans to return Ricky to state custody. Ricky heads off into the bush. Hec goes off to find him. Soon they are the subjects of a nationwide manhunt. Even though Ricky and Hec are very different, and don’t much like each other, they have to depend on one another to survive and avoid being found. Naturally, all this time together creates a special bond between them. Along the way there is some very good comedy as the two learn to appreciate the differences they have—and the things they hold in common. Along the way they discover some “majestical” landscapes that highlight New Zealand’s beauty.

Ricky (as is often the case in such films) is the more emotionally mature of the two. Through all his troubles, he has had to spend time with those who help him “process” the things of life. For example, Ricky creates haikus to express his feelings. He brings some of those ideas to Hec’s life.

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It turns out that Bella was a rescuer. In both Hec and Ricky she found people who needed rescue—and through loving them added much needed love to her own life. Now without Bella, Hec and Ricky need each other to be rescued from a world that doesn’t know how to deal with either of them. Ricky would soon fall through the cracks of the foster system (as he has been doing for years before Bella took him in). Hec would be totally alone with nothing worth living for.

In Ecclesiastes 4:9 we read: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up the other; but woe to one who is alone and falls and does not have another to help.” (NRSV) Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a cinematic version of those words.

Photos courtesy of The Orchard.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Ecclesiastes, foster care, haiku, Julian Dennison, Maori, New Zealand, Sam Neill

Jurassic Park III: When the Magic is (Almost) Missing

June 9, 2015 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

jurassic_park_iii-1280x1024

“With the best intentions? Some of the worst things imaginable were done with the best intentions.” – Dr. Alan Grant

After years of panning from critics and fans, there are many who would argue that the above quote best sums up the entirety of Jurassic Park III.

I am not one of them.

Personally, I have always found Jurassic Park III to be an enjoyable sequel that seeks earnestly to recapture the thrills and wonder of the original film.

Well, mostly…

With Spielberg relegated to the executive producer’s chair, Jurassic Park III was directed by Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger) and sees the return of Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill). Having put the events of the first film behind him, Alan happily declares that nothing could ever get him to return. Nothing, that is, until he is tricked into leading a guided tour of Isla Sorna—the second island—by Paul and Amanda Kirby. Soon after they land, Alan realizes that he is not leading an exotic expedition but rather a search-and-rescue operation on an island that he has never seen before.

In a lot of ways, Jurassic Park III feels like the movie that should have been made instead of The Lost World. Within it, there’s little question that every effort was made to reclaim the magic of the first film. Relegated to brief predators in The Lost World, the raptors are relevant again. They manage to create a new menace in the Spinosaurus. Alan’s return gives the film a much-needed balance between professionalism and protector that (bless his heart) is missing from Goldblum’s erratic chaos theorist. Even the pterodactyls finally make an appearance, after their tease at the end of Jurassic Park. Yes, it’s hardly the perfect film. Still, JPIII does seem to undo some of the damage done by the first sequel and at least rekindles some of the magic that was missing from the franchise.

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However, my primary issue with the film isn’t with the special effects, the plot, or the sense of adventure that it offers. JPIII does bring what’s necessary to give you a fun ride. I feel the film is lacking in its lack of soul. While the first film grappled with what happens when man tries to play God and the second film attempted (ultimately failing… but attempted) to examine some issues of oppression, Jurassic Park III lacks any real effort to bring us something more. While it does manage to link the theme of parenting between the Kirbys and the raptors themselves, there isn’t much further exploration into any specific idea or theme.

How interesting would it have been to really explore and compare the idea of relationships amongst humans and their similarities to other species? Or what about the sacrifices that one is willing to do as a parent in the name of love? These themes, amongst many others, were ripe for exploring and would have invited some fascinating spiritual conversation… yet JPIII falls short in this area. (Incidentally, this is also the only film in the series to include a number in the title, something that I believe is significant by revealing that it may not be much more than a sequel.)

With this in mind, though I do have a special place in my heart for Jurassic Park III, it did signify that Universal really didn’t know where else to take this franchise at the time. While still a fun ride that doesn’t deserve the flack that it often gets, the film doesn’t really offer much more that sits with you after the credits have rolled.

Even if it was made with the best of intentions.

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Filed Under: DVD, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Joe Johnston, Jurassic Park, Sam Neill, Steven Spielberg, The Lost World

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