Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017) [Blu-ray]
Biography | Drama

Goodbye Christopher Robin gives a rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children's author A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin, whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie the Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne, and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family?

Storyline: A rare glimpse into the relationship between beloved children's author A. A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson) and his son Christopher Robin, whose toys inspired the magical world of Winnie the Pooh. Along with his mother Daphne (Margot Robbie), and his nanny Olive, Christopher Robin and his family are swept up in the international success of the books; the enchanting tales bringing hope and comfort to England after the First World War. But with the eyes of the world on Christopher Robin, what will the cost be to the family? Written by Fox Searchlight Pictures

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, January 25, 2018 Is it even possible to grow up without being read a Winnie the Pooh story, or in fact having the pleasure of reading one yourself as a child? I still remember my first Winnie the Pooh book, a hardback affair that had a little imprint of the title character stamped into the front cover that I used to love rubbing my fingers over to feel the indent. The Winnie the Pooh tales are an intrinsic part of many people's childhoods, along with those incredibly redolent illustrations by E.H. Shepard, and so there is probably a built in "hook" for Goodbye, Christopher Robin, even if the whole Winnie the Pooh aspect of this treatment of the Milne family tends to exist as a kind of substratum to other, arguably more epochal, events like war. Goodbye, Christopher Robin is an impressively gorgeous feature in terms of cinematography and production design, and it offers some excellent performances, but it's an odd brew at best, combining background on how A.A. Milne (Domnhall Gleeson) came to write his charming stories about the naive little bear with some fairly turgid family drama that some Pooh fans may find an uneasy mix with their childhood memories of the bear. The film begins in 1941, which, as any Pooh fan worth their salt will tell you is several years after Milne introduced Pooh to the world. A somewhat uncontextualized vignette is offered whereby Milne, known by the nickname Blue, and his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie, just announced as an Academy Award nominee for I, Tonya), have just received some sort of upsetting message which most viewers will probably instinctively (and correctly) assume is tied to World War II. That then leads to a really peculiar image of an explosion which segues first to the credits sequence and then to the main story at hand, which is in fact set back in the 1920s, when Blue and Daphne have their little boy Christopher Robin, who, like his father, assumes a nickname, in this case Billy.

If World War II is at least hinted at in the opening scene of Goodbye, Christopher Robin, the so-called "Great War" (i.e., World War I, which assumed that moniker only after the "sequel" appeared) is pretty much front and center, if again kind of foundational, as the actual story kicks in. Blue is obviously suffering from post traumatic stress disorder from his experiences in that battle (hence that aforementioned scene of an explosion, just one of several flashbacks Blue experiences), and it has affected his ability to write. Even the blessed event of the birth of Billy doesn't really improve things, and in fact may actually have exacerbated certain tensions between Blue and Daphne. The two ostensible "parents" seem to be more than willing to leave the actual day to day nurturing of their child to a newly hired nanny, Olive (Kelly Macdonald).

One of the issues confronting Goodbye, Christopher Robin is that most people are going to come to this story with happy memories of their adventures with Pooh bear, but the film depicts a number of characters who aren't all that likable or in fact happy themselves. Daphne probably comes off worst, as a kind of shrewish harridan who's upset Billy wasn't a girl (hence his feminine clothing and hairstyle as a little boy), and who hates the fact that Blue can't overcome his stress to make a living writing. She's especially upset that Blue wants to leave the hubbub of London for a more remote sylvan location.

But even Blue isn't all that sympathetic, something that's kind of odd considering he's a "wounded" soul (psychologically if not physically). Perhaps strangest of all, Billy comes off as something of a spoiled brat, at least after he gets to his teen years, when he's completely upset with his father for "destroying" his childhood due to the fame the Pooh stories brought the family, and which forced Billy into becoming the "character" of Christopher Robin for press availabilities. Neither Blue nor Daphne come off as overly great parents, but the film is kind of uneven in its presentation of this aspect. At one moment, Daphne can be a raving you know what complaining about Billy, and then the next she's delighting him with the gift of Pooh or taking him on outings to the zoo.

That leaves the main emotional component to the nanny, which is perhaps a perfectly accurate depiction of how the British upper crust operated in those days. But even here Goodbye, Christopher Robin tends to waffle a bit, offering Olive as a sweet nurturing presence who nonetheless removes herself from the family unit after a bit of melodrama. It's interesting to note, though, that as the film wends its way back to where it began, that a certain homecoming is met with some of that traditional stiff upper lip stuff that the Brits are so well known for in terms of the parental units, and that only Olive shows any real emotion.

Goodbye, Christopher Robin has some interesting points to make about the hazards of fame, but it's perhaps to diffused to ultimately resonate as strongly as it might have. Performances are uniformly winning (little Will Tilston as the young Billy has the most adorable dimples you're likely to see anywhere), but the focus of the writing tends to wander a bit, kind of like Pooh taking a stroll through the Hundred Acre Wood.

The historical accuracy of Goodbye, Christopher Robin has been questioned by experts with far more knowledge of the Milne story than I have, but even within the confines of "fictionalized" history, this film is a bit of an uneven journey. It's downright odd that all three of the main characters (Pooh is excepted, since he has very few lines) are at least at times kind of unlikable. That said, the story here is interesting, if perhaps overly melodramatic (especially in the bookending conceit, which is needless). Technical merits are first rate, and Goodbye, Christopher Robin comes Recommended.

[CSW] -2.4- This reviewer said it better than I could:
Although this film chronicles the creation of some of the most beloved children's book characters in history (Winnie-the-Pooh), the movie itself, in my opinion, may be more geared to being an adult drama rather than a family one. It focuses on author (Alan) A.A. Milne (Domhnall Gleeson), his wife Daphne (Margot Robbie), their son Christopher Robin (Will Tilston), and his nanny Olive (Kelly Macdonald), as they live in the secluded Ashdown Forest, in Sussex, between World War l and ll. The film can jump between being quite magical to being quite morose as we see Alan suffering from PTSD after his WW l experiences, Daphne being emotionally closed down, thus leaving Christopher to be mostly nurtured by his loving nanny Olive However, the acting here is first rate, with a rather amazing screen debut of Tilston, who often seems to light up the screen with his infectious smile. It was also quite fascinating not only to see how the myriad of Pooh characters were created, but also how when the book was published its incredible popularity took its toll, especially on young Christopher. Overall, this movie can be difficult to watch at times, but I felt the rewards outweighed the negatives.

[V4.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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