Taken on an Unexpected Adventure, A Young Girl Meets a Gentle Giant

Ruby Barnhill and Mark Rylance in "The BFG"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

For nearly 50 years, British author Roald Dahl captivated the imaginations of young readers with his quirky and inventive stories.  He treated us to such books as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda,” Fantastic Mr. Fox,” and “James and the Giant Peach,” to name a few.  His readers could always count on getting swept away in his fantastical narratives and leave those worlds with a smile on their faces.

Now, one of his other books, “The BFG,” has been handed over to another master storyteller, director Steven Spielberg.  Although it may not rank among the director’s best films, it’s still a rather charming adaptation of Dahl’s classic.

In London, Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is an adventurous young girl living in an orphanage.  One night, she hears a noise outside her window, and looks out to investigate.  When Sophie discovers a giant (Mark Rylance), it takes her from her room and brings her to Giant Country.  She soon discovers the giant is a kind soul, and then dubs him as the “Big Friendly Giant.”  When the two discover that a group of man-eating giants threatens the human world, Sophie and the BFG will do whatever they can to stop them.

Ruby Barnhill, in her debut performance, brings the courageous and no-nonsense spirit of her literary counterpart.  The confidence she displays in playing the lead in a film mirrors the bravery of her character who’s thrust into an unknown world, and she shows she has the talent to work with a director as established as Spielberg.

Mark Rylance, in a wonderful motion-capture performance, exhibits the warm and fun-loving nature of the BFG.  The best part of the movie is having one of the best CGI creations of the year voiced by an actor as gifted as Rylance, and hearing his vocals for the role is a wonderful case of watching a beloved character come to life.

Janusz Kamiński, who has provided the cinematography for many of Spielberg’s film, offers beautiful visuals and grand, expansive views of Giant Country that place us in the world that Dahl envisioned on the page.  His eye for remarkable imagery can be seen especially in the sequence when Sophie and the BFG explore the gorgeous and colorful Dream Country, which brings a stunning blend of Kamiński’s camerawork and Weta Digital’s magical visual effects, a blend that presents the vibrancy of the BFG’s world on the screen.

The screenplay by Melissa Mathison (who passed away last November) is a suitable fit for such material, having written Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi classic “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial,” a film that also focuses on a child protagonist dealing with loneliness and bonding with a non-human being.  While the film sticks to the book for the most part, it’s just short of two hours, thereby causing some of the scenes to go on for a little longer than they should.  And not to nitpick, but the rather embarrassing jokes involving “whizzpopping” could have been left out of the film.  Those of you who have read the book will know what I’m talking about.  Thankfully, the film keeps some of the book’s darker aspects in tact to counteract the juvenility of these jokes.

Despite the film not reaching the heights of Spielberg’s most famous films, it’s evident his ability to craft heartwarming stories around technical efficiency hasn’t dulled over his decades-long career in filmmaking.  Despite the source material being superior, the film is still a respectable adaptation and an adequate representation of Dahl’s contributions to children’s literature.

Final grade: B