The Golden Compass

I finally got round to seeing The Golden Compass last night, and it was worth the wait. I haven't read the books or seen the play but, of course, I'm aware of some of the basics from press reports over the last few years. I'm pleased I saw it with a relatively fresh pair of eyes and a reasonably open mind.

The production looked gorgeous and the effects were seamless and excellent. I loved the design of that world's version of London seen from the air. Nicole Kidman was beautiful in an ice queen kind of way but I was particularly taken by Eva Green as Serafina, the flying witch who radiated Pre-Rafaelite beauty with the nose, cheekbones and cascading locks that shrieked Rossetti and Burne-Jones at me (take a look at Rossetti's Persephone to see what I mean). She radiated some very powerful imagery and archetypes as witch, wise woman and warrior.

I also liked Dakota Blue Richards (fabulous name, by the way) as Lyra, our young heroine with the odd estuary accent playing it as rebellious privileged-child-turned-street-urchin, a wild girl without parents who likes sitting on rooftops. Her interactions with the icebear were really good and given that the icebear was CGI I wonder who she acted with in his role to get that kind of performance?

Anyway, I liked it and look forward to the next installment. Of course, by then I will probably have read the books since this film has hooked me.