DIR/WRI: Charles Sturrige • PROD: Ed Guiney, Charles Sturridge • DOP: Howard Atherton • ED: Peter Coulson, Adam Green • DES: John Paul Kelly • CAST: Peter Dinklage, Ken Drury, Gregor Fisher, Edward Fox, Robert Hardy, Lassie
Releasing a slow-burning movie like Lassie at a similar time to blockbusting show Narnia seems mightily foolish. Lassie could have been a classic children's story if released during the post-Christmas drought period without the CGI-ed competition of the festive season. As it is, Lassie is a fine piece, with in-depth storytelling, faithful adaptation, and some fantastic acting. It will, however, probably flounder in the box office amid the larger fantasy tales.
The story of Lassie, much like the beloved Heidi, is one of hardships overcome, and needed a gentle hand to bring its delicate nuances to life. Fortunately for the movie, it is everything this year's Heidi should have been - bleak and uncompromising, whilst maintaining the hope of escape and happiness.
An opening scene of class-disruption in a Yorkshire mining village is indicative of how the tale will play out - Lassie becoming a symbol of the struggle between rich and poor, and the hope of escape for both. With World War II looming in the distance, the men are forced out of work by the closure of the mines. This particular indignity happens under the eye of the Duke of Rudling, the impeccable Peter O'Toole, a man whose own way of life has been disrupted by the addition of his granddaughter (nine-year old Hester Odgers) to his care. By commenting on how beautiful Lassie is, she instigates a determination in him to buy the dog.
Lassie is the faithful companion of Joe Carraclough (Jonathan Mason), a hapless child whose life is filled with the downs of doing badly at school, and the ups of having his four-legged friend outside the school gates every evening. When times are hard, and the bullying Duke wishes to buy Lassie, she is sold at the tearful insistence of his parents - a wonderfully talented coupling of Samantha Morton and John Lynch. The Duke's family relocating to Scotland soon brings Lassie's ensuing breakouts to a halt. Over 500 miles away from home, Lassie begins her epic journey back to Joe - her loyalty and dedication tested only by the kind-hearted gypsy Rowlie, (the fantastic Peter Dinklage), who offers the fugitive safety. Incidentally, Rowlie's dog, Toots, is so named in homage to Eric Knight's dog - on whom he based his original novel, 'Lassie Come Home'.
Since its inception in the 1930's, Knight's novel has spawned generations of adaptations, including a Hollywood vehicle starring Liz Taylor, and one of the longest running TV series in television history. Dealt with lovingly and carefully, the focus of this movie is on the dog herself, and her struggle to return home to Joe. Shot in Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Scotland, the landscapes are lovingly rendered and beautifully pictured. Lassie's journey brings her in contact with remarkable characters that add colour and voice to an otherwise silent quest - the sympathetic Kelly McDonald and the evil Nicholas Lyndhurst being notables. Due to the increasing shortness of cinemagoers attention span, Lassie probably won't get the audience it deserves - without the ordinary CGI and simple story of your common-or-garden blockbuster, it will probably deliver best in the comfort of your own home.
Reminiscent of the intelligent children's films of the Sixties through to the Eighties, this movie doesn't simplify matters, and hardly hesitates in showing the full bleakness of life and death. Though you may need to be a dog-lover/owner to fully appreciate and emotionally involve yourself in the story, it should prove entertaining for all ages, regardless of pet-inclination.
Sarah Griffin
Lassie is released on 16th December 2005.
