It's easy to fall in love with this tale of the ingeniously, slightly magical story of The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet. The story is touching, and quite charismatic, and the little boy is presented as quite a believable genius.
Without being presented as being too intelligent or arrogant and thus putting the audience off, he's both intelligent and likeable, and modest too.
However, it takes its time for us to fall in love with T.S. Unfortunately, it's hampered with structural and pacing problems. The first half of the film is slow as anything. And once it gets going, it is over too quickly. With a little more care, this could have been a tight adventure, that zipped along entertainingly, but it's too few and far between.
It is, though, very technically well done, but who would expect any less from Jean-Pierre Jeunet of Amelie fame? Jeunet creates a charming world and actually uses 3D really imaginatively. T.S Spivet's mind is really on screen, through his narration and cue cards of sorts which show what he is thinking. The 3D gives the piece more depth, and adds to the imagination of the film, which we don't see enough in 3D features.
When the eponymous tyke must make a spur-of-the-moment decision about telling a fib, Jeunet imagines T.S. standing at a crossroads with one signpost pointing temptingly towards the Mountain Of Lies and another urging him on to the Prairie Of Truth, it is classic Jeunet with a little bit of Wes Anderson added on top. Jeunet has certainly Americanised his style, but it is still very, very impressive. Light comedy and tragedy walk hand in hand, building to a crescendo of emotional outpouring that solidifies the bonds between T.S. and his kin.
My main worry for this feature is whether it will find its audience. It has a PG rating, but sometimes opts for taboo language, which seemed an odd choice. The books are for children, and this could, if it played its cards right, been one of those classic films that children look back on and enjoy for years to come, but it doesn't because at times it chooses adult humour and swear words. It's very odd, much like the titular character and the film on the whole.
T.S Spivet is an accomplished adventure that is sometimes hindered by structural problems, but, ultimately, it's charming and imaginative.
The Young and Prodigious T.S Spivet is out tomorrow.