Review

Review Date: 12-October-08
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

City of Ember (2008)

A satisfying story underlies City of Ember, which was probably told in more satisfying fashion in the book by Jeanne Duprau. Once upon a time, a civilization like ours realized that the planet had become too toxic. Its leaders built an underground city where the people might live happily and forget the tragic world they left behind. The city's infrastructure was designed to last for 200 years, after which, it was hoped, it would be safe to return to the surface. A plan was made for this return, but it was entrusted as a secret to the dynasty of mayors so the inhabitants of Ember would not be tempted to leave their sanctuary too soon. After a few generations the sudden death of a mayor precluded the transmission of this secret, and it was lost. The remaining years passed, and now the city is falling apart. Almost all the citizens are too complacent or afraid to wonder what lies beyond the lights of Ember even though these lights, along with the food supply, are failing. A few brave men have tried to venture into the unknown to no avail. A girl and boy, Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, are the only ones still willing to defy the encroaching dark. Following a series of clues, they risk their lives to save themselves and everyone they know from annihilation.

Watching City of Ember is like riding a roller coaster that keeps slowing to a halt whenever it starts to pick up speed. Thanks to a strong cast and an atmospheric (if low-budget) set, one can easily feel the pull of fascination, the movie's enticement into the realm of fantasy. Irish, British stars Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway don American accents and attitudes of compelling determination, backed by Bill Murray as a smarmy mayor, Tim Robbins as Doon's father, and Martin Landau as an Ember drone who reveals unsuspected strength in a pinch. But director Gil Kenan and his editor, Adam P. Scott, show none of the deftness that made their last effort, Monster House, such a delight. Whenever a scene begins to take hold, they swerve away to pursue some other thread which also needs to develop and never reaches fruition. Lina's family life is murky, for example, and when she refuses to attempt an escape without her little sister, the setup for a tense mission evaporates into nothing. The tone of the various threads is also inconsistent. Most are apparently aimed at the grade school crowd, but one scene at the end involves a nasty death, off-screen but still scary. It is frustrating to want to lose oneself in the tale and to keep getting yanked out of its spell. City of Ember has the makings of a good film, but they are not pieced together to produce one.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.