YA New York

Inkheart, the movie, based on Inkheart, Cornelia Funke’s bestselling YA novel, is an interesting specimen. The story is good (thanks to an exciting source), the cast is solid (Oscar winners! Bright newcomers), and all kinds of small elements in the film (costumes, locations, etc) are fabulous. Somehow, though, the final product doesn’t tie it all up in a bow. The flick feels kind of … average, which is fine for a fantasy adaptation in today’s culture of Harry Potter/LOTR wannabes, but not so great for fans of the novel looking for a loving cinematic incarnation.

It opens with a voiceover, a great plumy voiceover, and then we quickly meet our two main characters: Meggie and her father, Mo. The young actress playing Meggie is the right amount of real kid mixed with heroine. I liked her, as much as I like the always-dependable Brendan Fraser (serviceable as book-collector dad with a secret). References are dropped noting Mo’s incessant quest for a mysterious book, but we’re not really engaged with the tale until Paul Bettany appears (sinewy and intense) as the fire wrangling character known only as Dustfinger.

Soon we’re learning about Dustfinger’s home – it’s inside of a book called Inkheart. We connect that the book Mo has been looking for is this same novel, and then we discover that Mo’s big secret is a gift of voice. He is a “Silvertongue”, one who can call characters from books into the real world, summoning them from pages with his voice alone. Of course, when someone comes out, someone must go “in”.  Ergo, Meggie’s absentee mother has been trapped inside the book Inkheart for quite some time, while Mo has been valiantly trying to rescue her. Dustfinger, on the other hand, really just wants to find his way home – even if his life is inside of a novel!

Add in some slimy villains, Helen Mirren (hamming it up), and generic rollicking adventure tracks, and you have Inkheart! It’s a great imaginative, crazy mess. And while it’s probably fun enough for the kids, or for young fans of the book series, I personally wished that the climax had been a little grander. A more epic, awesome turning point than the dramatic reading (with some green screen in the background) that the director chose to roll with. Hey, it’s a good enough flick and a decent adaptation (no major crimes are committed against the literary source – it IS a movie all about book lovers, see), but I sincerely wish the movie were, simply, a little more cinematic. See it if you love the books, or, if you’re looking for an alternative to Paul Blart: Mall Cop. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 2:54 am and is filed under Jami B., movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.