Review of The BFG (2016) by Alden S — 04 Jul 2016

I did not love THE BFG... but I did, however, enjoy it very much. It falls firmly into the "lesser" Steven Spielberg tier, but even those have great things to offer, and THE BFG is no exception. It's a delicate, often lovely story that's fundamentally about the growing kinship between two unlikely friends.

Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) is an orphan who one night spies the BFG (Mark Rylance) skulking about the moody streets of London. Having been seen, the BFG spirits Sophie away to Giant Country, where the two lonely souls begin to bond and have a few comical and charming adventures together.

That's pretty much it! Yes, the plot eventually does expand in scope, but for the most part the film is a kind of fantastical character study detailing the relationship that develops between Sophie and the BFG, and on that level, the movie works. Mark Rylance is absolutely delightful as the title character, and the marriage of performance with digital effects has resulted in a kind of amazing creation; the BFG has so much warmth and humanity that any brief moments of dodgy effects work (of which there are very few) are instantly forgivable. Newcomer Ruby Barnhill makes for a sweet and intelligent leading lady, and her connection with Rylance's BFG is remarkably effective.

The most curious thing about THE BFG is just how much it doesn't really feel like a Steven Spielberg film. For a story about magical realms and creatures, there's a shocking amount of reserve on display; this is the Spielberg of LINCOLN bringing us this tale, not the Spielberg of E.T. or RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. What that means is that this is Spielberg exercising restraint, something which worked beautifully for the reverence of LINCOLN but results in a film here which feels somewhat slight and lightweight, particularly for a fantasy yarn. There is little in THE BFG that marks it as a quintessentially Spielbergian movie; there are moments of delicate emotion which echo the more naked emotionality and sentimentality of some of Spielberg's earlier work, but the overall flavor of THE BFG is substantially more underplayed, which isn't so much a criticism as it is an observation.

There are a pair of sequences, though, that are properly Spielbergian in the best way, the first being the opening - detailing the first appearance of the giant and subsequent journey to Giant Country - which is gloriously atmospheric and has an air of whimsical mystery. The second is undoubtedly the movie's highlight, and it is the sequence taking place in Dream Country, where the BFG travels to collect dreams (which he then gives to people as they sleep). The whole scene is jaw-droppingly beautiful, full of color and mood and delicate humor. It's a standout setpiece that takes its place among some of the best individual moments in any Spielberg movie from this century. The film as a whole could have used a bit more of this sort of visual splendor, but what we do get is pretty wonderful.

Director Spielberg's restraint with respect to the material somewhat transfers over to John Williams' work on the score. One might think that the subject matter of this film would naturally lend itself to Williams returning to his HOOK or HARRY POTTER playbook (grand and soaring melodies), but one would be wrong! Just as we get a slightly reserved Spielberg in the director's chair, we get a reserved Williams holding the baton. The orchestration of the score is gorgeously lush (the flute and harp writing are particularly wonderful), but that's in service of some fairly standard themes (one of which is cannibalized from Williams' own LINCOLN score from a few years back), and there are key moments in the movie where you'd expect the music to really soar and kick things up to another level, but it never truly happens, or at least in as big a way as I would have liked. It's a pleasant score, easily one of the best of the year by 2016's standards, but nothing terribly impressive by John Williams' standards.

Overall, the film is a solid and entertaining effort. The strength of the leading performances, the creation of the BFG himself, and the amazing Dream Country sequence are all more than enough to warrant giving THE BFG a chance. It's not one of Steven Spielberg's great works, but it still has the level of quality and polish that you're guaranteed to get from one of his movies.