In 2007, aspiring Hollywood director Chris Weitz presented a fantasy present to all fantasy lovers - a fantastic painting, The Golden Compass. Actors Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and Dakota Blue Richards performed the lead roles. The film is an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s novel Aurora Borealis, the first book of his popular trilogy Dark Beginnings.
Plot
The main character, 12-year-old Lira Belakva, lives in a world parallel to ours. There, science and magic coexist peacefully and complement each other. In this world, every person has a damon - a specific animal, a prototype of his soul. Children's daemons can change their appearance, depending on the feelings of their owners. If a person dies, his damon dies.
Lira lives in the town of Oxford with her uncle, Lord Azriel. She had never seen her real parents, and she thinks that they died long ago.
Lira accidentally overhears a conversation about some mysterious "dust" that can destroy her world, but neither her uncle nor the mysterious Marisa Colter give the girl any explanation.
In the world of Lyra, all power is concentrated in the hands of the Magisterium, a powerful organization that does not stop at anything to achieve its goals and tries to control all spheres of society. They hide from the inhabitants of Oxford the truth about the "dust." So that no one finds out about the possible danger, the Magisterium gives the order to destroy all the aliteometers - magic devices similar to golden compasses, which make it possible to find out the truth about any things. There was only one left - the one that Lyra accidentally finds.
Lira’s life changes when young children in the city begin to disappear without a trace. Her best friend Roger is disappearing. The girl realizes that Mrs. Colter and the Magisterium are involved in these disappearances. Lira takes the aletiometer and sets off in search of abducted children.
Production
Back in 2002, after the resounding box-office success of the first part of The Lord of the Rings, it was decided to acquire the rights to the adaptation of the fantasy “Dark Beginnings” by Philip Pulman, which was already done in February. British playwright Tom Stoppard was hired to write the script. The directors Brett Retner and Sam Mendes showed interest in the production, but in the end, Chris Weitz was appointed director. The famous composer of French descent, Alexander Desplat, winner of the Oscars and Golden Globes, agreed to write a soundtrack for the film.
After a long casting, which was constantly attended by Philip Pulman, in September 2006 the filming process began. Filming took place in Switzerland, Norway and the UK.
Cast
Actors of the film "Golden Compass" received several awards for their game, especially appreciated the debutant Dakota Blue Richards. The direct participation in the selection of actors was taken by Philip Pulman - the author of the literary source. It was he who insisted that the role of Marisa Colter be played by Nicole Kidman. He also wanted actors Jason Isaacs and Samuel L. Jackson to play roles in Golden Compass, but they refused to take part in the shoot because of a busy schedule. The cast was fully approved in August 2006.
In the film "The Golden Compass", the actors and roles were chosen by the creators in such a way that the author of the novel, and critics, and the audience were satisfied. After the successful premiere of the film, Dakota Blue Richards starred in the fantastic film "The Secret of Munakra", the series "Duckweed", and also played a small role in the dramatic film "Bend".
Nicole Kidman agreed to a role in the film only after lengthy persuasion by Philip Pullman, who saw only this actress in the role of Mrs. Colter.
Reviews
The film received mixed reviews from critics. It was noted that the film "Golden Compass", the actors and roles, atmosphere and visual effects embodied very well, and Dakota Blue Richards even nominated for the Saturn Award in the category of best young actress. Magnificent visual effects were also called the undoubted advantage of the picture. The main disadvantage of the Golden Compass, according to critics, was a simple storyline. It is difficult to disagree with this remark, as the ending makes the film logically incomplete. The presence of sequels could correct the situation, but for nine years they have not been removed.
Fans of the book "Northern Lights" were unsatisfied with the fact that in the film many episodes and fragments of the novel were deleted.
The fate of the sequels
The picture, with a rather large budget ($ 180 million), collected more than 370 million at the box office. Shortly after the premiere, preparations began for the filming of the sequel to the Golden Compass fantasy, with Dakota actors Julia Richards, Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, as planned, returning to their previous characters. But due to several unsuccessful projects, the film company had great financial difficulties. As a result, the shooting was canceled, and at the moment it is not known whether the remaining two books of the Dark Beginning trilogy will be filmed.