The Witches-1990
Director Nicolas Roeg
Starring Angelica Huston, Mai Zetterling
Scott’s Review #483
Reviewed September 20, 2016
Grade: B-
The Witches (1990) is a G-rated family film with a slightly dark tone, handled softly, as it is targeted at children. However, it is a film that adults may love too.
I found the film entertaining, with impressive special effects and a dazzling comedic performance by Angelica Huston. Still, ultimately, The Witches has a silly quality, though admittedly not trite, that does not quite make it a success in my book.
The film is based on a Roald Dahl children’s book, with a child as the central character, similar to other Dahl novels that were adapted into films such as James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
I cannot help but wonder whether my mediocre rating of The Witches is due to not having read the novel, even though I have read the other aforementioned novels in his collection.
Our hero in the story is Luke- a kindly, innocent young boy living in Norway with his parents and grandmother, Helga. When his folks are tragically killed, his grandmother takes him to London to begin a new life for themselves.
When Helga falls ill, they stay at a seaside resort where they stumble upon a convention of witches disguised as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Luke and his plump friend Bruno fall victim to the witch’s plot to turn children into mice. The witch group is led by the Grand High Witch (Huston), whom the other witches fawn over with grandiose praise.
Huston is fantastic as she overacts the part she plays- this is not a bad thing, but it makes the role quite fun and energetic.
When she transforms from a glamorous woman to a shriveled monster, the transformation is interesting to watch and an impressive part of the film.
Furthermore, the way Luke and Bruno interact as mice is also cute and a positive aspect of the film.
I enjoyed the aspect that, if watched closely, reveals that numerous witches are men wearing female wigs. This successfully gives the witches a grotesque, obviously mannish quality and emits a chuckle of pleasure at the same time.
Still, there is something slightly childish or juvenile about the offering, while the film appears dark on the surface. The subject is played for laughs rather than going full steam ahead as a dark film.
Undoubtedly, this is due to the target audience that the film is going for. For instance, the hotel manager’s affair with a hotel maid seems slightly unnecessary.
The Witches (1990) is a decent offering due to respect for the creative aspects that it elicits- I just felt the story might have been done a bit more seriously.
Additionally, the ending feels slightly forced and abrupt- a Hollywood-intended ending perhaps?
