City of Ember (2008)

Directed by: Gil Kenan | 95 minutes | adventure, family, fantasy, science fiction | Actors: Saoirse Ronan, Harry Treadaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Murray, Toby Jones, Lucinda Dryzek, Matt Jessup, Lara McIvor, Myles Thompson, Lorraine Hilton, Liam Burke, Mary Kay Place, Liz Smith, Amy Quinn, Martin Landau, Frankie McCafferty Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Heathcote Williams, Mackenzie Crook, Maureen Dow, Becky Stark, Brid Ni Chionaola, Mark Mulholland, Valerie O’Connor, Ann Queensberry, David Ryall, Ian McElhinney

Brand new director Gil Kenan has made one film before ‘City of Ember’. With the nice animation feature ‘Monster House’ (2006) he managed to impress the critics, the film was nominated for the Oscar for best animation. How did this still fairly young British director (32) out of the blue foot in the door in Hollywood is quite striking. Hollywood seems to have embraced him without a notable resume and that is exceptional. He certainly shows that he has talent with ‘City of Ember’.
The film doesn’t have a new or groundbreaking concept, but there’s something special about it that lifts it above the mainstream. The overall atmosphere feels authentic and the characters sympathetic, which is probably due to Kenan’s directing. The decoration looks nice, like a kind of sci-fi Dickens: the environment, the clothing, the use of color, everything contributes to this. The elaboration of the characters feels natural, as does the choice of the actors. Bill Murray can never really go wrong, though he doesn’t have an exceptionally big part in ‘City of Ember’, but he’s spot on again.

Another striking supporting role is played by old hand in the field Martin Landau. For those who didn’t know yet: yes, he is still alive and still plays in countless films! Actress Saoirse Ronan (15) could become a big one. She has already made an impression as Keira Knightley’s annoying sister in ‘Atonement’ (2007) and has been booked to work with some of Hollywood’s leading directors, such as Peter Jackson (‘Lord of the Rings’), Ridley Scott (‘Blade Runner”) and Peter Weir (“The Truman Show”). Here she charms as the endearing girl Lina, the main character. She matches well with the still relatively unknown Harry Treadaway, who plays Doon, her buddy, with whom she goes in search of a new world. Yet it is mainly Ronan who carries the film. In her nice red suit she moves like a fish in water through the dingy world of Ember.

‘City of Ember’ may seem like the umpteenth fantasy film based on a widely sold book of the same name and could therefore turn out to be trite and cliché, but it doesn’t. It’s all a bit short for a film adaptation and there are no big surprises in the story, even if you don’t know the book. The strength lies mainly in the overall atmosphere. This time no search for a source of all evil, no battles with hordes of monsters or a deadly battle for a weapon of power, but just two almost teenagers in search of a nicer world. The film adaptation of Jeanne DuPrau’s book exudes charm and humor, does not look too pompous and has nice characters, who are portrayed well. And that makes ‘City of Ember’ more than worthwhile and Gil Kenan proves to be a director who has vision and who will probably hear and especially see more.