Festive Forays - The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (PG)

Everything you need is inside.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a Disney fantasy that has drawn some surprisingly aggressive critical fire. I left the cinema having had a perfectly enjoyable time, to discover that pure vitriol has been spewed at it by certain reviewers, as if it were some obscenity on the face of cinema. (Hint - it's not. It's a benign and quite lovely experience.) It all serves as a useful reminder of how subjective movie responses are, and why a bunch of middle-aged dudes are not necessarily the best people to review a film whose ideal audience member is an eight-year-old girl. That said, this middle-aged dude is going to give it a shot.

Disney's Nutcracker is inspired by the Tchaikovsky ballet based on a story by E. T. A. Hoffman by way of a reworking by Alexander Dumas - so there's no need for any crap about the movie not being faithful to the ballet; people have been playing fast and loose with this story for two hundred years. It concerns Clara (Mackenzie Foy), a spirited girl with a penchant for clockwork inventions, who's dealing with family loss along with her siblings and father (a desolate Matthew Macfadyen). On Christmas Eve she unwraps a gift from her late mother - an ornate silver egg with a lock but no key. Thanks to her godfather, the benevolent inventor Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman), she finds a path into a magical kingdom of - count them - four realms, so she can search for the key. There she befriends a variety of toys-brought-to-life, including the Nutcracker Soldier of the title and the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley). But all is not well in the realms and Clara discovers she has a special role in setting things aright. 

Okay - this is a flawed film, that much I'll grant you. The script was subject to rewrites and whole sections were reshot by a new director, resulting in a mid-section that's a frankly a bit of a jumble both tonally and plot-wise. It's like the vision of how to forge elements of the ballet into a coherent fantasy drama was unfocused to start with. Some of the dialogue is jarring, certain characters are a bit (dare I say) wooden, while others remain underdeveloped. So this is very far from seasonal perfection. 

Having said all that, the whole thing is flipping gorgeous. From a vast opening shot that sweeps above the most insanely Christmassy London ever captured on film to lavish festive interiors wreathed in warm light to the realms themselves - Narnia meets Brothers Grimm with a steampunk makeover - it's consistently stunning eye-candy (literally so in the Land of Sweets). Seriously, it's some of the most exquisite set and costume design you're ever likely to see, and the CGI elements are incorporated pretty seamlessly. Like the ballet itself this is an intense sugar-rush - too sweet for most of the year, but totally fine for the run-up to December 25th. 

The film also benefits from Foy's terrific lead performance; her Clara has empathy and poise in abundance, while proving consistently smart and proactive. Knightley meanwhile is having the most fun of her career, with spun-sugar hair and giddily infantile voice and mannerisms as the outrageous Sugar Plum. And paying homage to the stage incarnation of the Nutcracker in a bravura ballet sequence is US prima ballerina Misty Copeland. Basically this film provides a consistent stream of delights, even though it's a bit like gorging yourself on Christmas candies.

As ever when a movie has this much acting talent and practical craftsmanship on display, it's a disappointment when the story elements don't hold up. This Nutcracker, whatever its grand aspirations, wasn't destined to find its way into the pantheon of great family movies. As an exquisite-looking diversion, however, full of festive spirit and a handful of performances that rise above the mundane, you could spend many a worse afternoon. You might even get in touch with your inner eight-year-old princess.

Gut Reaction: Frustration when the story didn't properly come together, but the visuals packed some serious wow throughout.

Where Are the Women?: Helen Mirren is underserved as the sinister Mother Ginger, but Knightley is thoroughly entertaining and Foy shows what she can do as her Victorian heroine with a contemporary edge.

Ed's Verdict: 6/10. Imperfections aside, this should still entrance its target audience with its capturing of the ballet's colourful spirit. And did I mention it's really nice to look at???