This is definitely a movie that works better than it should, thanks to the wonderful casting.

Writing: The story is predictable in nearly every possible way. To make matters worse, it feels as if it were actually written as a period piece, and later somebody chose to transpose it to a contemporary setting. There’s a little bit of class rivalry, but then it randomly switches gears to a more modern approach, for seemingly little reason whatsoever.

Production: In keeping with the fairy tale aspects of the story, the production goes for a slightly exaggerated production style. But just like the script, it can’t decide if it wants to be a period piece or a contemporary story. It also can’t quite make up its mind on how in and out of common reality it wants to be. Still, things are designed and shot well enough to look good and get the job done.

Cast: Here’s the highlight of the movie, to be sure. It’s impossible to go wrong casting Christina Ricci, one of my favorite actresses. She plays the aponymous character with an atypical amount of bounce and optimism from the usual kind of role she takes (then again, it looks like we’ll be getting another upbeat performance from her in Speed Racer). The only danger is that even with the pig nose the character has in the movie, Ricci’s performance is so completely charming that it’s hard to buy into the instant fear and disgust that everybody has towards her. Catherine O’Hara is not just an obvious choice for the over-protective and over-ambitious mother, but also the perfect choice. James McAvoy seems to be turning up in just about everything these days, but I suppose this one was the result of the film sitting on a shelf for a couple years before being released, for whatever reason. Supporting characters are rounded out with great casting, including Richard E. Grant and Reese Witherspoon (who is also a producer for the film). Last but least not, there’s also Peter Dinklage, one of today’s most overlooked acting talents, rounding out the supporting cast.

Music: Joby Talbot turns in a score that’s pretty much what one would expect for the movie. That’s not particularly a bad thing. It works well, and has some fun in doing so.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 11:20 pm and is filed under Movie Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.