Eve Williams
13 years ago, Henry Selick gave children everywhere a film that would certainly stay with them for a long time. Now, Coraline once again illuminates the screen with its bewitching and perplexingly comforting visuals for a Halloween reshowing at Cineworld. Eve Williams Reviews.
It has the ability to immerse a panorama of ages despite being a family friendly film, with the cautionary values that the narrative unveils.
Based on the original novel, Coraline depicts the tale of a dissatisfied girl who moves to a new home with her parents, here she finds a hidden passage to her fantasy life where she can live with her perfect parents and fulfil her desires. However, like the continuously inky sky her dream world is situated under, there is a sinister darkness of this alternate reality and a sacrifice in order to remain there. In an era where Halloween and horror films are a relentless conveyor belt of grotesque violence and insubstantial narrative, Coraline’s ability to create a deep disturbance in the viewer through a simple narrative and innovative animation is refreshing. This film is an exhibition of beautifully intricate stop motion with its imagery veiled in shadows, superb scriptwriting and an enchanting score which ties up the film like a big velvet ribbon.
The victory of Coraline for me lies in its ability to immerse a panorama of ages despite being a family friendly film, with the cautionary values that the narrative unveils. The fact that this film is being screened years after its release date can indicate not only the mesmerising experience of plunging into Coraline’s moonlit world but the steadfast importance of the fable it tells: To stop searching for superficial perfection and come to find appreciation for our own realities as we learn the brutality in beauty.
Eve Williams
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image courtesy of Eve Williams Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
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