Movie Review: "The Golden Compass"

Movie Versus Book: What's The Same, What's Different?

After reading the book written by Philip Pullman and posting my review on Searchwarp, I decided it would be a good idea to see the movie as well and compare the two. This review will touch only on the differences between the book and the movie, along with my personal views on said differences.



Because the film has less time to tell the story (just under two hours) than the book does, certain liberties had to be taken with the plot. A narrator starts the story, giving the viewer information about multiple parallel universes, some where humans have their souls inside their bodies and some (where this story takes place) where humans' souls exist outside their bodies as companions, called daemons (pronounced demons). The narrator also explains a bit about the Magisterium, a religious ruling group that oversees everything that goes on in the world, with the end result of controlling the universe. I understand these changes to help the viewing audience understand some of what is to come, as these concepts are not discussed in the book until much later. Giving this information at the beginning of the movie helps get the viewer in the mindset to understand scenes that occur later in the movie without having to backtrack.

There are other differences in the movie, points in the story which deviate from the plot in the book. In the book, it is the Master of Jordan College who attempts to poison Lord Asriel before his meeting in the Retiring Room; in the movie, it is a member of the Magisterium who puts the poison in the wine. The movie shows Lyra's daemon Pan attacking Mrs. Coulter's golden monkey daemon as he attempts to steal the golden compass, followed by Lyra and Pan escaping from Mrs. Coulter; while the book has Lyra and Pan sneaking out of the mansion after finding Mrs. Coulter's daemon has been scouring Lyra's room for the alethiometer. The witch's prophecy concerning Lyra is discussed in both media; but in the book the discussion takes place between the witch clan queen, Serafina Pekkala, and the aeronaut, Lee Scoresby; while in the movie, the discussion occurs between Mrs. Coulter and the leaders of the Magisterium.

Finally, there are scenes which exist in the book that are left out of the movie, and scenes in the movie that never occurred in the book. Lyra and Roger explore the catacombs beneath Jordan College, and discover the burial crypts of past Masters of the college and how their daemons are acknowledged with them (book). The heads of the Magisterium have a meeting with Mrs. Coulter and discuss how Lord Asriel must be stopped (movie). Lyra learns from Iorek Byrnison how he was exiled (book). Lyra discovers the caged daemons of the children at Bolvangar (book). Asriel kills Lyra's friend Roger to open and control the Aurora, and to enter the parallel world (book). And the ending of the book (Asriel tries to convince Mrs. Coulter that she should go with him into the parallel universe; she refuses; he goes alone, unaware that Lyra follows him) is totally different from that of the movie (Lyra and Roger, who is alive and well, fly with Lee Scoresby to the north, come to the conclusion that Dust is good rather than bad, and decide to find Asriel and stop him). These differences I can attribute to the differences in the storytelling media, book versus movie. As such, they don't really bother me.

I will admit I was surprised to see material from the second and third books in the trilogy appear in "Compass". As a result, the overall anti-religion theme in the movie was much more evident than it was in the book. Book author Philip Pullman has stated that there are plans for all three books to make it to the big screen; however, books two and three ("The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass") will only do so if "The Golden Compass" has a good showing in the theaters. My guess is the producers decided to hedge their bets in the event "Compass" was the only film, pulling in information from "Knife" and "Spyglass" to make their point more obvious. They did a good job of it, too. Mrs. Coulter's detailed explanation to Lyra of what Dust is and what it does is straight out of the second book. The influence and motives of the Magisterium are from both books two and three. Mrs. Coulter refers to "the Authority", an individual who is not named until book three. The movie's implications are that religious organizations are evil and that mankind can free themselves from the influences of outside forces that keep them from doing good, whether the forces are creation (Dust) or Creator (the Authority).

I'll not pass judgement on Pullman's theological views as expressed in the movie. He's entitled to his religious beliefs. I must say part of me feels the tiniest bit sorry for the man. Christian groups are attacking both the movie and his books for their athiest viewpoint. Amazingly, atheist groups are claiming that Pullman backed down and had some material removed from the movie so as not to offend religious groups. (If this is the toned-down version, I don't know that I want to see the original.) The poor man can't make anybody happy, offending his critics and his supporters. Welcome to the real world, Philip.

I do have to question those promoters who claim that "Compass" is a "holiday" movie. Considering the movie's theme, it's doubtful that by "holiday" they mean any religious celebration that occurs at this time of year, whether Christian, Jewish, pagan, or otherwise. There is no holiday celebration of any type in the movie, and the story doesn't appear to take place during the winter months. Yes, there's snow, but that's when the characters travel north. So I don't understand the connection.

For those who have never read the books, "Compass" is an entertaining diversion. The computer animation is beautiful, especially the Victorian steampunk version of London in Lyra's world. The daemons move fluidly and realistically. The acting is good. The movie's downfall is, of course, its message, particulary when viewed in light of the books. Many will have a hard time getting past that, although I doubt that children will take up the atheist banner simply by seeing the film.