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by Jeff Eason |
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New “performance capture”
animation adds excitement to Beowulf
Along with the Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury
Tales and Dante’s Inferno, Beowulf is one of those
rare non-Biblical, pre-Shakespearean works of literature
that has maintained its place in western civilization
all the way into the 21st century. Written by some long-ago-forgotten
author, it tells the tale of the 6th century Danish warrior
king Beowulf who earns his place in history by slaying
not only the hideous monster Grendel, but also Grendel’s
infinitely more evil mother.
Warriors Beowulf
and Wyglaf in the new adventure movie Beowulf.
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Crispin Glover as
the tormented monster Grendel in the new movie
Beowulf. |
Angelina Jolie plays
the seductive monster known simply as Grendel’s
Mother in the new adventure movie Beowulf. |
Beowulf has been translated into hundreds of languages
and was the inspiration for several films including the
2005 Icelandic film Beowulf and Grendel and the inferior
1999 film Beowulf with Christopher Lambert in the title
role.
Robert Zemeckis, the director of the 2004 holiday fantasy
The Polar Express, has returned to making computer-generated
films with his new version of Beowulf. On the plus side,
it is amazing how realistic his humans look in Beowulf
compared to the creepy, dull-eyed mannequins who peopled
The Polar Express. The advancements in CGI technology
during the past three years have made it a viable art
form, especially for films that would otherwise use real
actors in front of blue screens for the majority of their
special effects scenes (Star Wars, Spider-Man, etc.).
In Beowulf, Zemeckis uses honest to goodness actors and
their abilities as the jumping off point for his characters.
Ray Winstone not only voices the character Beowulf but
his facial features are the inspiration for the CGI version
of the Great Dane. Zemeckis’ computer imaging allows
the 5’10” Winstone to appear as the 6’6”
muscle-bound Beowulf.
The movie also stars Anthony Hopkins as the aging Anglo-Saxon
king Hrothgar, Robin Wright Penn as his wife Wealthow,
John Malkovich as Hrothgar’s counsel Unferth and
Brendan Gleeson as Beowulf’s second in command Wyglaf.
In a creative casting coup, Zemeckis tabbed Hollywood
freak-boy Crispin Glover as the voice of Grendel and Angelina
Jolie as his vengeful mother. You can even see traces
of Glover’s countenance in Grendel’s monstrous
face, especially in the eyes.
While not a literal translation of the original story,
Zemeckis keeps the basic tale intact. When Hrothgar opens
a giant new hall on a mountain near the sea, his men bring
their families for a celebratory evening. Their merry-making
disturbs Grendel in his cave and he comes down and smashes
everything in sight. Beowulf and his men come from across
the sea to help rid Hrothgar’s kingdom of the monster,
not knowing that there is an even more wicked problem
laying in wait in the form of Grendel’s mother.
Zemeckis has released this new movie in both traditional
big screen and 3-D versions (two theaters in the Charlotte
area have the 3-D version). Clearly there are various
moments in the film that are meant to be seen in 3-D and
watching them in a traditional theater is a little disappointing.
As a visual experience, however, Beowulf is pretty darn
stunning. The scene where Beowulf has to fight Grendel
in the hall and the finalé featuring a golden,
fire-breathing dragon are incredibly original and the
“performance capture technique” method of filming
allows Zemeckis to be very creative with his camera angles.
“Because it is a mythological fable, the demand for
photo reality was not as paramount as it might be,”
said producer Jack Rapke. “Also, to replicate the
conceptual visual world Bob envisioned would be almost
impossible in the 2-D world. Using this process gave us
the opportunity to cast whoever we felt was the perfect
actor for each part. So, for us, it was the best way to
get over certain hurdles and do a lot of things which
would have been impossible in a traditional live action
format.”
Although the characters in Beowulf could have been developed
a little more, Zemeckis does a great job of straight-ahead
storytelling. His hero is definitely not perfect, lying
to his people at times, boasting frequently, and committing
adultery on at least one occasion. In that regard, it
makes this Beowulf more real than the heroes in most live
action movies.
“Our Beowulf is a bit more flawed, more like a human
hero than a god,” said Zemeckis. “He’s
not a Thor character. He is a real person who has a lot
of flaws—hubris being chief among them.”
Beowulf is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence
including disturbing images, some sexual material and
nudity. It is currently playing at Regal Cinemas in Boone.
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