City of Ember
(2008)
Another year, another ill-fated adaptation
of a children’s novel. Jeanne DuPrau’s 2003 novel eventually added three
sequels, but the abject failure of Gil Kenan’s film put paid to any thoughts of
further installments. Which is a shame, as there are many good points in a
children’s movie nursing big ideas on the dangers of devotion to the status
quo, bureaucracy, entropy and stifled imagination.
Perhaps it’s surprising that
post-apocalyptic yarns hadn’t found much of an audience pre-Hunger Games (although a version of The Tripods appears to be in development
hell) as it is rich territory, be the target group teen or younger. The titular
city was built as a safe haven and instructions were left for the inhabitants
by its builders, to be opened in 200 years. But these were lost, and 247 years
have passed. The city is falling further and further into disrepair while the
majority of the population expresses blind belief that all will be well.
Youngsters Lina (Saoirse Ronan, good as ever) and Doon (Harry Treadaway, who went
on to play Stephen Morris in Control)
discover the instructions and set about finding a way out of the city.
Caroline Thompson’s script is well-paced,
and Gil Kenan brings ample energy to his live-action debut. Kenan’s debut was
2006’s Monster House (something of a
companion ‘toon to the recent ParaNorman
and Frankenweenie), and there is
definitely a cartoonist’s eye to the design and compositions; hopefully he will
follow in the footsteps of Gilliam and Burton, as he hasn’t worked since Ember nose-dived (Edit: Kenan has just been announced as the director of the Poltergeist remake, a film that needs no remaking but at least he's an distinctive choice). It’s an additional
achievement to keep the momentum up when he’s so restricted by his world. Ember
is a set-bound environment, all rusty, muted browns; on the page it may work
gangbusters, but onscreen it’s an uphill struggle to attract an audience when
there is a deficiency of colour, spectacle and action-packed set pieces.
Thompson ensures that we quickly understand
the restrictions placed on this world and the social order that has been
instituted. The process of discovery of the secrets of Ember is also
intriguingly played-out. Less convincing are the mechanics of escaping the
city, as established by the builders. These seem not just complex but
logistically unlikely; it’s one of the few areas that Kenan’s touch seems
less-than-assured.
There is solid work from a dependable
supporting cast; from Bill Murray’s mayor (Murray plays it surprisingly
straight) to Toby Jones as his assistant and Mackenzie Crook (clearly cast
purely for the freak factor). Martin Landau, Tim Robbins and Marianne
Jean-Baptiste also appear.
I suspect that, as a child, the most exciting
elements would have been the over-sized creatures we see at the periphery of
the action; a large moth, the claw of a beetle, an extended rampage involving a
well-rendered giant mole. Ironically, this gigantism wasn’t an element of the
book(s).
It’s not difficult to see why Ember flopped. Despite its
over-designed nature, Kenan’s film is a story-first affair, rather than
action sequences or extravagant heroism. It can almost be taken as an
indication of quality when a family film fails commercially, as it is quite
probable that it hasn’t been wholly divested of originality and
distinctiveness. This is certainly true of City
of Ember.
***1/2