THE BFG (7.5 out of 10) Directed by Steven Spielberg; Written by Melissa Matheson, based on the novel by Roald Dahl; Starring Mark Rylance, Bill Hader, Jemaine Clement, Ruby Barnhill; Running time 117 minutes; Rated PG for “mild thematic elements, some scary action and brief language”; In wide release July 1, 2016.
Steven Spielberg is a masterful filmmaker. Even his misfires are filled with an earnest grace that makes them hard to ignore, even if they might be awful or ill-advised. When I saw the trailers for this film, I was worried “The BFG” would fall into that category. That it would be pretty to look at and possibly fun, but there would be no substance to it.
I am happy to report that my fears were unfounded, but that doesn’t mean the film isn’t without its problems.
“The BFG” is about the titular “Big Friendly Giant,” played by Mark Rylance, and the young girl he abducts named Sophie (Ruby Barnhill). She’s seen him from the balcony of her orphanage and he’s terrified the humans will find out about him and the rest of giant country. And so they strike up a begrudging friendship. It turns out BFG is bullied by the larger giants and he and Sophie hatch a plan to give them their comeuppance.
The film is charming in its earnestness. The themes of needing to stand up for oneself and not be afraid to ask for help are well taken. It’s funny in a way I wasn’t expecting and Spielberg actually constructed a fart joke so capably and carefully it actually managed to make me laugh. It’s also a film dripping in fantasy visuals that make me want to hang frames of it as paintings on my wall. There are sequences in the giant’s home vibrant with color, fantasy elements jumping into the reflections of ponds, chase scenes where the giant hides from humans, and they’re all perfect.
But there’s something off about the film, too.
Looking back at Spielberg’s other kid-oriented films, you have a sliding scale from “Hook” to “E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial.” “Hook” holds up the misfire end of the scale. Overlong, barely coherent. Fun in a nostalgiac sort of way if you were the right age when it came out. “E.T.” is timeless, perfect in tone and theme, and manages to bring tears to the eyes of any audience member of any age in any year since its release. “The BFG” finds itself somewhere in the middle of Spielberg’s scale of kid’s movies. Where the climax of “E.T.” is a perfect emotional crescendo, “The BFG” is merely satisfying.
Perhaps its the fact that we know Spielberg is capable of hitting a homerun virtually every time he’s up to bat, it’s disappointing when he hits a solid double.
The hero of this film you’re going to hear about, though, is Mark Rylance. Rylance was the Russian spy in Spielberg’s 2015 home run, “Bridge of Spies,” and he’s nothing short of magical in this film. The motion capture work bringing his sly, subtle performance to life was nothing short of astounding. If there’s anything that will make this film a rewatchable favorite in any household, it’s going to be Rylance. He’s able to sell the Dahl-isms with a natural flair and sneaking wit that brings a smile to my face just thinking about it.
For me, the reason the film didn’t reach the heights it could is because Spielberg seemed to pull back from the most interesting conflict in the story. Sophie isn’t the first “human bean” he’s befriended. There was a boy the BFG had taken in and we’re left to infer that the boy came to a tragic end at the hands of the other giants. Leaning into this story a bit more would have lent a more emotional weight to the film, but as it was, Spielberg offered the hints in a way where less careful viewers might not have even noticed. It was elegant, but needed to pay off more, because that’s where the emotional core of the film seemed to be.
More than anything, this film is Spielberg having fun, telling an entertaining kids movie. It’s probably the best kids movie in theatres right now and definitely has more rewatchability than “Finding Dory.”
Take your kids to this movie. And if you don’t have kids, go see it for Mark Rylance and marvel at how great he is and wonder why he’s not in more stuff.
Spielberg’s “The BFG” gets a 7.5 out of 10. It comes out on Friday, July 1st.