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The BFG
Steven Spielberg’s luminous Roald Dahl adaptation boasts an enchanting performance from Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant who befriends a little girl (Ruby Barnhill).
Fantasy 2016 117 mins
Director: Steven Spielberg
Overview
Steven Spielberg’s lush, luminous fantasy takes its place as one of the great adaptations from Britain’s beloved children’s author, Roald Dahl. Acclaimed actor Mark Rylance (who won an Oscar for Spielberg’s Bridge Of Spies) delivers an enchanting performance as the Big Friendly Giant who enlists the help of Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) in his struggle against mean-spirited brethren: a gang of even bigger giants with malevolent plans.
Rylance’s wonderfully expressive performance, rendered using the latest motion-capture technology, brings a warm humanity to Dahl's fantastical creation, who speaks in a charming, gobbledygook language that comes across like a kind of weird West-Country patois. Spielberg is, of course, utterly at home in this milieu; a tale of strange creatures and heart-warming friendship scripted by his E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial screenwriter, Melissa Mathison. Sadly this would be their final project together but result is a marvel of late Spielbergian craft; a beguiling family treat boasting a truly exceptional central performance.
Mild threatAccessibility
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