 June
2007
This month's reviews/features:
Miss Potter
A Real Charmer
Tired of movies with foul-mouthed actors, unbelievable plots, and
overdone special effects? If you are, don’t despair; there’s relief
in sight in the form of a terrific picture titled Miss Potter.
Directed by Chris Noonan, who gave us Babe,
Miss Potter chronicles the life of British author / artist
Beatrix Potter. Chances are at some point you’ve read your children
the stories of Peter Rabbit, Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck, and
characters like those. Well, we owe their existence to Potter.
Born in 1866 to a wealthy family in London, Beatrix was a rabbit
of a different color. As a child she entertained her brother with
fanciful and heartwarming tales of imaginary animal friends, stories
she illustrated with her own beautiful drawings. Unfortunately for
Beatrix, her talent went largely unrecognized by her parents, though
her father was supportive of what he considered her “hobby.” The
thorn in Beatrix’s side was her mother, who believed that an
upper-class woman adhered to strict social customs, did not “work,”
and especially did not mix with those not of her class. The
irrepressible Beatrix was having none of this, though; she just went
right on doing what she knew was going to be her life’s work. By the
time she was a young adult, determined to get her work published,
Beatrix submitted her stories to a publishing house run by the Warne
brothers. She showed chutzpah in even asking to have her work looked
at, and one brother was adamantly opposed to taking her on. The
other, however, thought shepherding Potter’s stories would be a good
assignment for their idle younger brother Norman. Neither of the
elder Warnes thought the stories would ever sell, but Norman knew
differently. He made sure that Beatrix’s tales would be published,
and soon the two fell in love.
Does this sound like a fairy tale? It’s more than that, let me
assure you. Unforeseen things happen; the plot takes some
interesting twists and turns, and there are bittersweet moments.
Naturally I won’t reveal them here.
In one of the screen’s best performances in a long time, Renee
Zellweger perfectly plays the character of Beatrix, and Ewan
McGregor shines as Norman Warne. The supporting actors also do
excellent jobs. Potter’s drawings are beautifully animated for the
screen. Above all, the picture is underlyingly serious. Scripture
tells us that, no matter our origin or class, we are not to hide our
light under a bushel.
Miss Potter is for everyone – kids, teens, and
adults. Don’t miss it.
Film Rating: PG
Rating: 3 ¼
stars
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Index of movie
reviews...
(2003 reviews through present)
Jay Maurer, a member of West Side Presbyterian Church, is
a long-term movie buff and former college teacher of The Film as
Literature. He has written movie reviews for The Good News
(West Side newsletter) since 2002.
If you have comments or questions
about the movie (or play) reviews, please contact Jay at
dramachap@msn.com.
Ratings are expressed in
increments of ¼ star.
A rating of 2 ½ stars or higher is meant to be a recommendation.
1 star: poor
2 stars: minimally satisfactory
3 stars: quite good
4 stars: superb
Criteria for determining the ratings:
- Reflection, either explicit or implicit, of Christian values,
including suitability of language and lack of gratuitous violence
- Quality of the acting
- Originality
- Unity of the entire picture
- Substance, or in the words of C.S. Lewis, weight
Other Christian movie review Web sites:
Plugged In Online
ChristianityTodayMovies.com
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