Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 3:03:12 PM
Some days, your heart just isn't in attending a screening. It's the Christmas season, people are busy, things are hectic, and the prospect of spending an evening at a screening of a film -- such as The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep -- that just doesn't seem targeted for your demographic isn't too exciting. After all, who really wants to see a film in which the lead character looks like an amphibious Shrek?
Well, now that I've seen it, I do. And I'd happily see it again. The Water Horse is, simply, the best family non-animated film to see the light of day since Duma -- and coming form me, that's high praise. The story takes place during 1942 in Scotland when a young boy (well played by Alex Etel, last seen in the underappreciated Millions) finds an egg in a loch near the palatial home which his mother (a wonderful Emily Watson) manages. The hatching of the egg, coupled with the arrival of a new handyman (Ben Chaplin) and a company of soldiers assigned to guard the loch, lead by Captain Hamilton (David Morrissey), create the dramatic and romantic tension and the arc of the story.
A word of warning: this is not a kid's movie, and it's not a comedy. It's a serious family movie in which the active participation of the parents will help their children make sense of what happens, some of which is quite dark (What happened to that dog, anyway?). But the cinematography and locations are beautiful, the writing and acting is excellent, and neither the adults nor the children are treated like idiots. So if you don't have kids, and feel awkward going to The Water Horse without them, go rent some and go. It'll be worth it.