The Golden Compass (film)
The Golden Compass is a fantasy film based upon Northern Lights (also known as The Golden Compass), the first novel in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials, and was released on December 5, 2007 by New Line Cinema. The project was announced in February 2002, following the success of other recent adaptations of fantasy epics, and at $180 million is one of New Line's biggest-budget projects ever after a series of box office disappointments preceding the release.
The story concerns Lyra, an orphan living in a fantastical parallel universe in which a dogmatic dictatorship called the Magisterium threatens to dominate the world. When Lyra's friend is kidnapped, she travels to the far North in an attempt to rescue him and rejoin her uncle.
Before its release, the film received criticism from
secular organizations and fans of His Dark Materials for the dilution of the religious
elements from the novels, as well as from some religious organizations for its
perceived anti-Catholic and atheistic themes. The film was met with mixed reviews,
and has thus far failed to meet expectations at the U.S. box office, but has performed
well internationally.
Cast
Dakota Blue Richards
as Lyra Belacqua, who embarks on a voyage to battle the forces of evil and rescue
her best friend. New Line Cinema announced 12-year-old Richards' casting in June
2006. She had attended an open audition after watching a stage production of The
Golden Compass, and was picked from 10,000 girls who auditioned, for what is her
first acting job.
Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, Lyra's mother and the antagonist
of the film. Kidman was author Philip Pullman's preferred choice for the role
ten years before production of the film, and despite initially rejecting the offer
to star as she didn't want to play a villain, she signed on after receiving a
personal letter from Pullman.
Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel, Lyra's ruthless
and mysterious adventurer "uncle", who is actually her father.
Ian
McKellen as the voice of Iorek Byrnison, an armoured bear who becomes Lyra's friend
and comrade. Nonso Anozie had recorded lines for the part of Iorek Byrnison, but
was replaced by McKellen at a late stage as New Line wanted a bigger name in the
role New Line president of production Toby Emmerich admitted he "never thought
[Anozie] sounded like Iorek" and while he initially trusted director Weitz's
casting decision, he "never stopped thinking that this guy didn't sound right."
The recasting was against Weitz's wishes, though he later said "if you're
going to have anyone recast in your movie, you're happy it's Ian McKellen."
Ian McShane as the voice of Ragnar Sturlusson, the armoured bear king. Ragnar's
name in the book was Iofur Raknison, but the name has been changed to prevent
confusion between him and Iorek.
Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby, a Texan aeronaut
who comes to Lyra's aid.
Eva Green as Serafina Pekkala, a queen of the witches.
Freddie Highmore as the voice of Pantalaimon, Lyra's dæmon.
Ben
Walker as Roger Parslow, Lyra's best friend, who is kidnapped and taken North.
Clare Higgins as Ma Costa, member of a Gyptian family which aids Lyra.
Jim
Carter as John Faa, the king of the Gyptians.
Tom Courtenay as Farder Coram,
Gyptian second-in-command and advisor to John Faa.
Kathy Bates as the voice
of Hester, Lee Scoresby's dæmon.
Kristin Scott Thomas as the voice of
Stelmaria, Lord Asriel's dæmon. She has one spoken line.
Jack Shepherd
as Master of Jordan College.
Simon McBurney as Fra Pavel.
Magda Szubanski
as Mrs. Lonsdale.
Christopher Lee as the Magisterium's First High Councilor.
Lee's casting was also at New Line's behest, rather than that of Chris Weitz.
Derek Jacobi as the Magisterial Emissary.
When Lyra's uncle, Lord Asriel (Craig), visits the college, Lyra saves him from assassination at the hands of a Magisterial representative, who wants to prevent Asriel from presenting evidence to the college which indicates the existence of particles called "Dust", in opposition to official Magisterium doctrine. Asriel obtains funding from the college to mount an expedition to the far north in order to investigate the substance, which he believes originates in a parallel universe to his own, entering the body via a person's dæmon. Fearing the effects of Dust, the Magisterium is conducting experiments on children in order to find a means of inoculating them against it.
After Asriel departs, the college is visited by Marisa Coulter (Kidman), who offers to take Lyra north as her assistant. Lyra assents and, before she leaves, is entrusted with an alethiometer by the master of the college. The last remaining since the Magisterium forbade their use, the alethiometer is a device that is able to reveal the answer to any question asked it by a trained user. While unable to operate it, Lyra accepts the gift and takes it with her to Mrs. Coulter's home. When Mrs. Coulter arouses Lyra's suspicions by delaying their journey, Lyra discovers that Mrs. Coulter is head of the General Oblation Board – the "Gobblers" who have been kidnapping children, and that Roger and her Gyptian friend Billy Costa (Rowe) have been taken by this group to the north. Mrs. Coulter learns of Lyra's possession of the alethiometer, but Lyra escapes.
The "Gobblers" pursue her, but she is saved by the Gyptians, nomadic boat people, who are planning to travel north by sea in order to rescue the kidnapped children, many Gyptians amongst them. Lyra travels with them and comes to an understanding of the alethiometer's use with the aid of Farder Coram (Courtenay) a Gyptian and Serafina Pekkala (Green), the queen of a witch clan who appears during the journey. At a Norwegian port, Lyra befriends aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Elliot), who advises her to hire Iorek Byrnison (McKellen), an exiled prince of a race of armoured polar bears, who is employed as a metalworker in the port after being tricked by the local townspeople and his armour (which houses his soul) stolen. Lyra uses the alethiometer to discover the armour's location, which Iorek recovers. He pledges his service to Lyra's cause, while Scoresby is hired by the Gyptians to aid them on the trek north.
The alethiometer guides Lyra to Billy Costa, who has escaped from a Magisterium research station. Finding him dazed and without his dæmon, she returns him to the Gyptians. The group is attacked by a tribe of Samoyeds and Lyra is captured. Taken to the king of the armoured bears Ragnar Sturlusson (McShane), Lyra tricks him into fighting Iorek for the throne. Iorek wins the fight and becomes king. Iorek carries Lyra to the Magisterium research station at Bolvangar, but the two are separated by the collapse of an ice bridge. Pretending to be lost, Lyra is welcomed into Bolvangar by the Magisterium scientists and locates Roger, instructing him to have the other kidnapped children prepared for escape. Lyra eavesdrops on a group of scientists talking with Mrs. Coulter about the experiments they do on the children, discovering that they attempt to prevent Dust from entering a child by severing the bond to his or her dæmon. Discovered by the scientists after Mrs. Coulter departs, she is taken to a room where the scientists intend to perform the procedure on Lyra. At the last moment before it is completed, Mrs. Coulter intervenes, taking Lyra to her rooms.
Mrs. Coulter explains that the procedure is to prevent the flow of Dust into the child when he or she enters puberty, saying that the Dust causes bad thoughts as children near maturity. She also tells Lyra that she is her mother, and Lord Asriel her father. Lyra learns that Asriel is engaged in his research further north and that assassins have been sent to kill him. When Mrs. Coulter asks for the alethiometer, Lyra incapacitates her and escapes. Lyra destroys the severing apparatus, leading to a series of explosions, which begins to tear down the facility, and she leads the children outside. Magisterial guards block their escape, but a battle ensues when Iorek, the Gyptians, a band of witches and Scoresby arrive. The guards are defeated and the children are rescued.
Instead of travelling back south with the Gyptians and the rescued children, Lyra and Roger choose to travel north with Lee Scoresby, Iorek Byrnison and Serafina Pekkala to find Lord Asriel.
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