The BFG (2016) Film Review

When it comes to movies, there's perhaps no children's author who's had both the extensive spotlight and a divisive track record than Roald Dahl. Whilst Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox and, to a lesser extent, Matilda have all proven to be big successes with audiences, the likes of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Witches tend to be either leered at or forgotten about, and few have been hugely successful at the box office – with an original interpretation of The BFG already coming out back in 1989 with little more than a small following. But enter beloved auteur Steven Spielberg re-teaming with E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial scribe Melissa Mathison – her final screenplay before her untimely death in 2015 – and the magical Walt Disney Company and recent Oscar winner Mark Rylance (winning for previous Spielberg production Bridge of Spies) for a brand new Dahl depiction that had been on the cards for around 25 years. So, with plenty of key players to be excited about, a Cannes Film Festival appearance that garnered good reactions, and an unfortunate lack of box office attention in America when it appeared on the 4th July weekend (likely due to Finding Dory's release just two weeks prior), can this new iteration of The BFG take a swig of frobscottle in celebration; or is the whole thing one big whizzpopper?

Some people at an orphanage in London believe that, when midnight comes, the Witching Hour comes and the Boogeyman comes out to play. Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) believes otherwise – it's at 3am when she's the only one left awake; when the drunks are returning home and the next batch of newspapers is being delivered from door to door. And on one particular night, her assumptions are proven true: upon the sighting of a giant being through her bedroom window, the young girl is whisked away to the hidden lands of Giant's Country; ensnared by a kind and herbivorous creature known as the Big Friendly Giant (Rylance) who takes it upon himself to capture and create dreams for the sleeping children. Despite only being captured to ensure she doesn't begin to blab, the two form an unlikely friendship, but it's clear that it's only her BFG that's welcome to her presence – at least, in a way that involves her survival, as the remaining giants that reside there not only enjoy the misfortunate of their runty neighbour but also the taste of young children. With her own life, and later countless other children's, at risk, Sophie must teach the BFG to be brave and face his fears; even if that means coming face to face with Queen Elizabeth II (Penelope Wilton) to do it. 

With a basic premise of 'girl meets giant' being an easy formula to work with, it's all a matter of a) the film being fully entertaining for children and parents alike, and b) creating a fine version of the Dahl classic. And with the team they've got together here, it's easy to confirm that they fire on all cylinders... to an extent. Whilst the film does rush slightly into getting you to Giant's Country, it leaves ample breathing room to make one feel immersed in the world around the characters and answer many of the questions the film dares to give for the next hour or so. Granted, there's plenty of moments of slapstick and majesty to come into play with giant encounters and the Dream Country (a sight that I imagine looks glorious in 3D), but things slow down for a necessary moment of tension and foreboding ahead of the final act, and later leading a finale which was perhaps in need of an extension to feel all the more satisfying. That said, it's at least faithful to the original book, with the inclusion of the Queen an oddity that feels at home in the world of snozzcumbers and bonecrunchers, and the whole affair feels joyous enough to leave the screening with a smile on your face. 

And with Spielberg always comes superb work on his behalf. His direction is as sublime as ever, with his recurring teamwork with cinematographer Janusz Kamiński proving to bring some stunning visual work and bringing a true sense of scale to it all. Unlike many other films in the past that have played around with the different scales of people, this looks and feels the freshest, which may be thanks to the sheer audacity of the differences. Spielberg knows how to direct his actors and special effects and has shown that countless times, but The BFG proves that he also knows how to play with scale to large amounts of success; despite the more childish nature of the film compared to his usual fare, he knows exactly what to do to bring his imagination to the big screen.

In the lead role of Sophie, newcomer Ruby Barnhill proves to be another great find for the world of child actors. Instantly creating a strong personal for herself and whose constants disapproval for supposedly impossible things is constantly entertaining, Barnhill presents the character of Sophie as naturally as she can, whilst pulling a Neel Sethi with working against non-existent objects and beings. Unfortunately though, the massive screen presence of Mark Rylance as the titular giant overshadows her both figuratively and literally. Despite the bizarre dialogue he has to read out and the somewhat childish sensibilities of his character, not to mention the heavy CGI given to his appearance to make him appear more like the character does in the book, Rylance gives it his all and proves to naysayers just how good an actor he is. Meanwhile, Penelope Wilton as the Queen is your standard Wilton goodness that we've all come to love, going all out as a regal figure; Rebecca Hall as her maid is perhaps a little underdeveloped as a character, but she at least revels in being a kid-friendly environment; Rafe Spall's butler is just the right blend of funny and serious; and the legion of giants (lead by a menacing but entertaining Jemaine Clement) may not be entirely distinguishable in personalities nor appearance, but at least make for fine antagonists with fun little quirks and pet peeves. 

45 years ago, Steven Spielberg created his first feature-lengthed production for television in the form of Duel – a film that ended up garnering a surprising amount of praise. 45 years on, and the visionary auteur continues to prove why we love him so much. Whilst a few too many characters and elements are underdeveloped, and a midway plot progression feels so short and forced in that it could have been done in a much better manner, The BFG does prove just why we loved the work of Roald Dahl in the first place – and what better present for the author to receive in the year of his centennial than a "squiffling"ly good movie? 8/10.