A thrilling escape executed poorly

MOVIE REVIEW

City Of Ember

Certification: PG

Cast: Harry Treadaway, Saoirse Ronan, Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, B J Hogg, Martin Landau, Mackenzie Crook

Director: Gil Kenan

Genre: Fantasy, Adventure

BASED on the 2003 bestselling novel "The City Of Ember" by author Jeanne Duprau, the screenplay for the movie of the same name is written by Caroline Thompson, who also wrote Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride". Hence, a dark setting for the movie can be expected.

The movie opens by introducing the City Of Ember as a fully contained city built centuries ago as a shelter to its population from impending disaster.

But for the past 200 years, the food supply is depleting and the hydroelectric power generator is literally falling apart. This causes the entire city to blackout frequently, and with each blackout the darkness lasts a little bit longer before the power comes up again.

And much of the knowledge of the city's technological know-how has been lost through the generations. This is evident when the two lead characters, Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) and Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan), come of age and are thrown into the society with their lottery-assigned "occupation". And like all other adults, that is all they will be doing for the rest of their lives.

Lina becomes a messenger for the city in place of the broken down telephone system, while Doon becomes a technician at the Pipeworks to minimise the damage in the hydroelectric generator. And when Doon has more questions for Sul (Martin Landau), his mentor at the Pipeworks, Sul is not able to answer because he has no further knowledge outside of his own job. And that's how it is at the City of Ember.

But both Doon and Lina are the rare few who acknowledge that the city is about to collapse and their only hope is to find a way out into the "unknown" world, despite Mayor Cole's (Bill Murray) calm and composed facade and his inspirational words to his subjects to plough on with their everyday lives.

This movie shows why the novel is a bestseller but fails to do it any justice. Right from the start, the story progression is like a whirlwind and very rarely slows down to catch its own breath.

Director Gil Kenan, whose only other credit is the animated movie "Monster House" two years ago, makes a rather weak transition from animation to live-action feature movie. Kenan fails to capture the emotions of his characters and the drama of the story.

There are also many issues not addressed that may not sit well with the audience. For instance, the various conceptual flaws of a city underground for so long. Where do they get their everyday necessities? Who produces toiletries and stationeries? What about sewages and hospitals?

But even more so, how did the people of Ember become so naive and incurious? Why is everyone taking things so easily when their very existence is in the brink of extinction? There should have been a coup.

And what about those rodents and insects introduced into the story, how did they evolve into gigantic creatures? Caroline Thompson's script should have addressed these issues that would have given the story more depth.

Fortunately for the movie, it was able to attract a great cast to play some colourful characters. Oscar-nominated Ronan is expressive and a dear to watch; Treadaway although is not as effective but plays his part well enough. The supporting cast from the veterans like Murray, Landau and Tim Robbins as Doon's inventive father, Loris Harrow, provide the funny and the suspense.

Whether it's the studio's jurisdiction to keep the running time short or the lack of experience from the director that failed the storytelling, it is still a valiant effort from both parties. The background music also is a big help in setting the tone throughout each individual scene.

Kenan's vision for the movie comes through as he brings Ember to life. From the narrow and dank streets to the inside of Lina Mayfleet's apartment, Kenan brings with him very detailed imaginations.

It is quite clear that "The City Of Ember" is a very interesting and exciting fantasy-adventure story, but it is just unfortunate that the movie rushes through all that.

Reviewer's Rating: 6 / 10

The Brunei Times