Delightful Ember a Magical Fantasy
Humanity has moved underground. For 200 years the citizens of Ember have thrived, working day-in and day-out to make sure their fair city has remained functional. But things are beginning to fall apart. The lights flickering, blackouts more common, the massive generator beating right at the very heart of things starting to crumble into irreparable bits and pieces.
Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway in Fox Walden's City of Ember
Newly given the jobs they will hold for the rest of their lives, teenagers Lina (Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan) and Doon (Harry Treadaway) are certain things are nowhere near as fine and dandy as the fast-talking Mayor (Bill Murray) would lead them to believe. Armed with a mysterious metal box once thought lost, these two fiery personalities with inquisitive minds and fierce intellects take it upon themselves to solve the mysteries ripping Ember apart, in the process maybe leading all humankind out of the underground darkness and into the sunlight for the first time in a millennia.
Under the assured direction of Gil Kenan (Monster House) and the skilled penmanship of acclaimed screenwriter Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands), Jeanne Duprau’s acclaimed novel City of Ember comes to the screen with all its heart, imagination and limitless vitality still very much intact. A rapturous all-ages adventure in the spirit of Stardust and Ladyhawke, this tale of curiosity and selfless daring-do is a sure-fire delight I fell in love with right from the very first frame.
Not there are really anything in the way of surprises. We know where it is all heading, what the ultimate conclusions must be. This isn’t a film that’s going to build to some sort of shocking Planet of the Apes style coda of dehumanized devastation. No, this is a family-friendly epic designed to send viewers out on a safely euphoric high and nothing more, and to say it does so with almost smoothly confident ease would be more than a bit of an understatement.
If nothing else, the picture is a visual triumph. Production designer Martin Laing (McG’s upcoming Terminator: Salvation) has certainly outdone himself, his Ember a bit of Dark City mixed with a sprinkle of Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal all melded together in a delicious stew of rundown enchantment worth squealing about.
Kenan uses said world magnificently, tromping his actors (including Tim Robbins, Toby Jones, Martin Landau and Marianne Jean-Baptiste) through each twisty effervescent nook with the assured skill of a seasoned veteran. In fact, you’d never guess that this was the man’s first live action enterprise, his confident hand guiding things so effortlessly I couldn’t help but be impressed.
I admit I wish things wouldn’t have gotten so urgent and rushed towards the end, Thompson’s script so insistent on pushing the momentum the whimsical charm and grace of the characters lost a bit of their ebulence amidst all the chaos. There is also a somewhat surprising absence of tension that’s a tad startling, the urgent energy and budding suspense of so much of the earlier bits fading as both Lina and Doon work out the clues and attempt to fix Ember’s dilapidated problems.
These are minor complaints, however, because from the invigorating performances of the delightful two young stars to composer Andrew Lockington’s (Journey to the Center of the Earth) inspiringly euphoric score I fell madly in love with City of Ember. It is just the type of fantasy I grew up with as a youngster, and I’d be proud to urge all my grown friends to take their own children and sit down and enjoy it right along with them, maybe even discovering a piece of their own childhood innocence in the process.
Film Rating: êêê (out of 4)
Additional Links
- City of Ember Theatrical Trailer
