By Mac Spain
Goodbye Christopher Robin is directed by Simon Curtis, starring Domhnall Gleeson and Margot Robbie. The film lets us take a behind the scenes look at the life of author A.A. Milne and the creation of the Winnie the Pooh stories, inspired by his son C.R. Milne.
It’s an easy comparison to make, but I’d say it’s very much like John Lee Hancock’s Saving Mr. Banks in the sense that it’s the story behind the creation of a much loved Children’s story. As a child, I remember Winnie the Pooh and all the characters of the hundred acre wood for that matter being a huge deal to me, and I’m sure that goes for a lot of people. So I did go into this film with some scepticism, because it’s no easy task to do justice to such beloved source material.
However, I’m delighted to say that this is a film which is just dripping with elegance, knowing exactly what buttons to push and how to do so. Goodbye Christopher Robin will make you smile, make you chuckle and you’ll definitely feel it tug at your heartstrings on numerous occasions. It’s the perfect blend of fact and fiction, holding out a hand to its audience and inviting each and every one of us to lose ourselves in the magic of cinema, even if only for a moment. You’ll find yourself more than willing to accept such an invitation because the film is just so well put together.
Now a lot of that comes down to Simon Curtis’s simply marvellous direction, which at times can seem very real. Author A.A. Milne began writing his Winnie the Pooh books shortly after returning from the First World War, so Curtis does a fantastic job of providing us with a visual representation of his struggle to adjust to life after the war. There are various flashback sequences which is precisely why the film has been given a PG rating. But aside from that though it’s the kind of film that’s appropriate for most audiences and I think the vast majority could leave the cinema satisfied with what they’ve just seen, because there’s really not a lot to dislike.
The screening I went to had maybe….a dozen people including myself. I do feel like it deserves more attention, but then again it’s facing some tough competition coming out the week after Kingsman: The Golden Circle and the week before Blade Runner 2049. But if you find yourself at a loose end and fancy a trip to the cinema, I’d say that this comes highly recommended 8.5/10
