The Wind in the Willows
Making a non-animated version of Kenneth Grahame's beloved children's classic
seemed a dodgy idea to start with; casting the Monty Python troupers as Rat,
Mole, Badger, Toad, etc. looks almost like cruelty to animals. This Terry
Jones-directed adaptation is a study in frustration: the troupe put in a
sincere, loving effort, but, inevitably, inappropriate silliness and cynicism
break out. Eric Idle, with his cricket sweater and passion for picnics on the
river, stands out as Rat, and Jones himself is an appropriately frivolous
jodhpured Toad, but Steve Coogan's whiny Mole wears out his welcome in a hurry,
and Nicol Williamson's Badger is stern but not subtle. A hilarious John Cleese
is wasted in the tiny part of Toad's attorney, who delivers a passionate
indictment of his client ("It's the best defense that can be made, my Lord").
Nobody's as cute as the original Ernest Shepherd illustrations.
The story is pretty much all Toad's motor-car misadventures; you'll find no
mention of Rat's "Wayfarers All" reverie, the fieldmice's Christmas at Mole
End, or the baby-otter search that leads Mole and Rat to the ineffable
revelation of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" (one of the high points in all
of English literature). Instead there's a protracted battle on the train,
007-style, and an interminable sequence at the end when our heroes are menaced
with the weasels' dog-food grinder. Grahame wrote a children's book about
animals that's smart enough for adults; this version barely seems smart enough
for children. It'll please Python fans, but admirers of the original and other
adults should tread warily. At the Brattle Theatre February 13 through
26.
-- Jeffrey Gantz
|