The Nutcracker 3D 2010
105 minutes
Rated PG
Opens Wednesday, November 24th in select theaters.
The Nutcracker 3D is one of the strangest cocktails I've seen in a long time. It's technically a kids adventure story, yet it eventually becomes, of all things, a striking Holocaust parable. Yet during the shockingly vivid second act, the film still finds time to deal with a Peter Pan-like subplot about how adults eventually outgrow their childish pursuits. The problem with the film is not-so-much that it's bad (it's not), but that I have no idea what audience it was made for.
The first act of the story follows what I presume is a pretty traditional Nutcracker story (it's been ages since I saw the play, I was actually one of the Sugerplum Fairies in Kindergarten). It's 1920s Vienna and Young Mary (Elle Fanning) lives with her brother Max (Aaron Michael Drozin) in a house filled with everything but friends. Their parents (Richard E. Grant and Yuliya Vysotskaya) have left them on Christmas night, heading off to a social function and leaving them in the care of their charming and eccentric uncle Albert (Nathan Lane). Albert gives Mary a very special present, a nutcracker shaped like a toy soldier. Sure enough, the wooden toy (Charlie Rowe) quickly comes to life and whisks Mary away on a seemingly charming little adventure where toys have human forms and the world is to scale of a small toy. So far, so good right?
Okay, aside from the unexpectedly dark themes, how is the movie? It's, well, okay. The film drags a bit in the second act and becomes a bit rushed in the third, but the technical credits are all pretty solid and the actors all take this material very seriously. Richard E. Grant and Nathan Lane share a fine moment around the halfway mark where they reminisce about their childhoods (by the way, Uncle Albert sings a song pretty early on concerning the theory of relevant, in case there is any confusion as to Albert's last name). Elle Fanning gives an engaging performance, which compensates for the wooden (sorry) work of Charlie Rowe. Rowe isn't bad per se, it's just that his Nutcracker Prince is more a symbol than a genuine character. Turturro delivers the evil goods, as expected.
The Nutcracker 3D is a bizarre concoction, mixing childish fantasy with real-world horrors in a way that almost works. I wish the film had spent more time on character and less on frenetic action, but it's certainly a unique bit of 'family filmmaking' in a season dominated by animated films and CGI-infused adaptations of classic cartoons. The film gets points for its ambition, as well as its willingness to risk alienating parents even if their kids are unaware of the broader implications of the story being told. As for the 3D, it wasn't shot in 3D, it doesn't benefit from the murky 3D, so see it in 2D if it's available. For those who want something to take their family to over the Thanksgiving holiday that isn't animated, The Nutcracker 3D serves its purpose. Just make sure to take note of the whole 'parental guidance suggested' bit.
Grade: 2.5/4