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'The Seeker: The Dark is Rising' movie review |
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Written by Roger Moore, MCT
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Friday, 05 October 2007 |
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THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING
4 stars (out of 5)
Cast: Drew Tyler Bell, Frances Conroy, Ian McShane, Christopher Ecclestone
Director: David L. Cunningham
Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Industry rating: PG, for fantasy action and some scary images.
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"The Seeker: The Dark is Rising" is the eye-popping, jaw-dropping first installment in a film fantasy series that could turn out to be the new "Harry Potter." Tautly scripted, smartly cast, beautifully shot in an England of snow and fog, it's a dazzling slice of cinematic imagination.
Based on Susan M. Cooper's Seeker novels, "Dark is Rising" is about an American kid (Alexander Ludwig) who has just moved to Britain with his large, rambunctious family. Will is "the invisible one," the youngest son, ignored, passed over, lost in the family shuffle.
But in this new village where the Stantons have set up housekeeping, "the old ones" are eyeballing the boy. So are the crows.
And when he turns 14, Will learns why. In a hurry.
Ian McShane, late of "Deadwood," is Merryman, the grump who explains, "Destiny brought you here, Will. We just took care of the details."
He is The Seeker. Will is a warrior. He has these six "signs" he's supposed to hunt for and tuck into a special leather belt. When he gets a hint that one of these hidden-in-plain-sight talismans is near, Will can travel through time, but not space. Thus, he tussles with Vikings, then tumbles amongst Restoration Era pub crawlers, all in the same village.
The Rider, given a lovely if under-scripted menace by Christopher Eccleston, recently TV's "Doctor Who," is the bringer of The Darkness. He must keep Will from finishing up his belt-rune collection.
All of this is standard-issue fantasy. What gives "Seeker" its zing is its technical razzle-dazzle. This is the best-shot, best-edited movie this genre has produced in years. Director David L. Cunningham, cinematographer Joel Ransom and editors Geoffrey Rowland and Eric A. Sears create an everyday world where magic happens with disorienting lenses, upside-down images, showy crane shots and flawless cutting. Oh, and the occasional onslaught of snakes, cloud of killer crows and the like.
As The Darkness tightens its grip on the world, the village is seized by a winter that rivals anything "The Day After Tomorrow" delivered.
All that technique puts flash in a too-simple story. And the actors do the rest. Ludwig has moments when he perfectly captures the confusion of the character, and the inarticulate angst of puberty. McShane and Frances Conroy (in what one can only describe as the Maggie Smith role) never let us see them wink as they convey, to an overwhelmed 14-year-old, the gravity of the situation.
No muggles, no brooms, no schoolyard pranks or quidditch here. This doesn't have the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink texture of the "Potter" films. But that's a virtue. And if every film adapted from Cooper's five-novel series has the spark, fun and virtuoso technique of "The Dark is Rising," these will be well worth seeking.
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