[rating=4.00]
Family friendly movies are a tricky genre. While you’re looking to appeal to the kids who beg their parents to take them out for a $50+ afternoon of sitting in the dark and binging on candy, you’re also wanting the approval of the parents who must sit through 90 minutes of their life they might never get back. Enter the kid friendly historical drama, designed with kids in mind, and parent approved.
At the surface, Goodbye Christopher Robin is pretty straight forward. Author A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson), creator of Winnie the Pooh, needs subject matter after returning from World War One. All he can think about is war, and of course, no one wants to read about it. Rather than insist that what he has to say on the matter is vastly important, he instead moves his family—his wife Daphne and their son (Margot Robbie and Will Tilston)—out to the country to find not only peace, but his missing voice. In the process of actually hanging out with his child for the first time, he inadvertently stumbles into a world of whimsy and magic.
It’s an interesting, sad story that begins to unfold as we learn that Milne suffers from crippling PTSD, and has a hard time connecting with the world around him. Couple that with a partner who is more interested in partying than she is her own child, and it’s a recipe for disaster. The real Christopher Robin, or Billy Moon as his family knew him, is primarily raised by his nanny.
It’s hard to gleam much of the significance to Christopher Robin of these relationships because the film jumps around so often. Its editing is distracting, and rather than help guide the story, it leaves it dry and uninteresting. In truth, it felt like the editor was perhaps clashing with the writer and director’s original vision of the film, showcasing pretty moments vs a gritty truth that would have aided the story. At times we’re brought into a fantasy, seeing Milne’s horrors mirrored against that of Christopher Robin’s childhood imagination. The contrast is lovely, until we once again jump in story and lose track of what we were just trying to enjoy.
The writing feels dumbed down, perhaps in an attempt to connect with that younger, family friendly audience. Boasting a stellar cast, and a wonderful newcomer playing the titular Christopher Robin, there’s no reason for such a dulled down performance. It’s hard to make Gleeson look bad but, somehow, he managed to be one of the worst parts of the film. Most of the time, it seemed like the actors were just reciting lines, rather than connecting with the material.
While the origin story itself would be enough to fill a 90-minute movie, they shoehorn in an extra 25 minutes, with an adult Christopher Robin as he continues to deal with the aftermath of unwanted fame and subsequent torture from his peers. Rather than smoothly transitioning the audience from childhood to adulthood, we’re suddenly thrust into a completely different storyline that once again is lost in the editing room.
The one upside to be found is that there is heart in the story, and buried deep within the film. Poorly done or not, it’s guaranteed to pull at even the hardest of heartstrings, confusing your taste in film but also reminding you that you’re not a monster.
Goodbye Christopher Robin is now playing in theaters everywhere.
