MISS POTTER

Director: Chris Noonan (Babe)
Starring: Rene Zellwegger, Ewan McGregor, Emily Watson

It's strange, don't you think, how we spend much of our time telling children that the world is full of daffodils and sunshine, but it's rarely reaffirmed for adults. In fact, if by some strange chance an adult were so sunny as a 6-year old, I imagine most people would laugh them right out of their cynical lives. Why do we feel the need to form these sweet foundations in our lives, but then spend the next 60+ years tearing them down brick by brick? Strange indeed.

Miss Potter, however, does not feel this way. It is a short, sweet children's story for adults, briefly reaffirming that childish (and I mean that in a good way) outlook on life. This, I think, is important. I think completely losing touch with those best parts of childhood is a sin, but that most all of us are sinners. It's a shame Miss Potter is not a better movie, because it does have a lot to say, even if what it is saying is simple and sweet.

Miss Potter (Zellwegger) is, of course, Beatrix Potter, the old maid (meaning in her 30s) author of the the Peter Rabbit children stories. She lives with her rich parents, generally unsocial, but with an even richer imagination to keep her company. Eventually she does fall in love, with an equally sunny young publisher (McGregor). They try to convince her parents that their unequal social positions should not be an obstacle to ther being married, and eventually succeed. Then adversity really strikes (I won't ruin it for you by explaining), and the point of the movie is made, that these sweet, simple, perhaps fantastical, outlooks on life can really aid us to deal with the real troubles that adults face.

By Potter's time (1860ish - 1940ish) England already had an exquisitely rich history of children's literature. She was breaking no ground with her enormously successful series of books about rabbits and toads and puddle ducks. In this film at least, what made her unique was her embodiment of the sweet nature that her books projected. She used her imagination and tender disposition to confront the actual struggles of an adult.

The film as a whole is not great, but it is good. It's cute, and enjoyable, although occasionally Zellwegger's scrunched up face often comes across as perhaps a bit too twee for consumption. This is no Babe, Noonan's masterpiece of a children's story, but it would hardly be fair to expect it to be. It's a short, sweet reminder of a simpler, more caring time that probably never existed. But maybe the truth is that that little fantasy of daffodils and sunshine is worth it, even if it's all in our heads. And as long as we can tell the difference between the fantasy and reality, I suppose.

Standouts: Perfectly good work by Zellwegger, McGregor, Noonan and others. A fine film.
Blowouts: It was as short and simple as a Peter Rabbit story. Maybe not quite enough going on to capture the attention of an adult.

Grade: B-