I watched Bridge to Terabithia today. I haven’t read the novel so I cannot comment about how close it follows the original story. However, I can say that it was a very engaging story and very well made. I can’t say that I liked the actual path the story took near the end but that can be said about a great many stories ever created. It is a story about personal growth and inner strength but also about seeing past the surface to the substance beneath.
First, let me say that the trailers did not do the movie justice and, in fact, were somewhat misleading about the nature of the story. Still, even with the misdirection, the movie was well worth watching.
The story opens with the male lead, Jess, going to school amid indications that his family is struggling financially. He gets picked on and generally has a bad time of it. Meanwhile, the female lead, Leslie, is introduced to Jess’s class as a new student in the area who, it is shortly revealed, is Jess’s neighbour and whose life has been somewhat difficult and continues to be in the new school. Leslie beats Jess (and the rest of the boys in his class) in a running race which sets up the friendship after a brief stretch of, well, tetchiness.
Perhaps as a form of escapism, Leslie introduces Jess to the idea of creating Terabithia, an imaginary kingdom which they rule and in which they are able to surmount all obstacles. This spills into real life as they deal with bullies and other problems. This is where the movie really shines as the female bully Janice is revealed to be a much more human person than initially thought and her character develops through the movie as well. Indeed, all the characters from “Monster Mouth” to Jess’s father to Jess and Leslie themselves develop and grow through the story.
I kept expecting Terabithia to turn out to be a real place and that someone other than Jess and Leslie would visit. All the clues that such was the case were there but in all cases could just as easily be explained as dramatizations of Jess and Leslie’s imaginings. Even after the terrible tragedy that takes Leslie’s life, I still expected Terabithia to be real and that Leslie would turn out to have been merely visiting Earth in search of the rightful king or some such.
Instead, Leslie’s death is a catalyst for great understanding of characters like Monster Mouth and Janice. Indeed, Janice actually stands up for Jess when he is picked on. It allows the kinder side of Jess’s father to show through finally. Jess, too, comes to a realization about his talent and personality which leads to him revealing Terabithia to May Belle, his younger sister, whose imagination allows Terabithia to truly shine.
There are many elements beyond the basic story and theme that are to be commended as well. The old rope that is mentioned as being unreliable when Leslie and Jess begin to create Terabithia does, indeed, turn out to be dangerous when it breaks and causes Leslie’s death. Janice and her gang charging tolls to use the little girls’ room turns out to be important as Janice’s character evolves. Jess’s sketchbook which May Belle has been looking at (as mentioned at the beginning) turns out to allow her to share the vision with Jess in the end when he introduces her to it. There was a great deal of attention paid to the continuity details and it shows in the fact that there was nothing which jarred me out of the story as I watched.
Interestingly enough, the way the ending was framed, there are a number of possible things which could happen. Terebithia could, in fact, be real (one of Jess’s teachers said he had a talent which could create whole new worlds) and Leslie could be alive there. Or Terabithia could be real and Leslie is really dead. Or Terabithia could be truly imaginary. In the first two cases, there is great potential for sequels either as serials or as movies. There are a great many possibilities stemming from either of these cases. In the last case, there is much less possibility for sequels. Of course, the ending could simply be an ending as well, in which case it stands tall on its own. I think that would probably be the best situation given the caliber of sequels lately and even a well done one might reduce the story somewhat.
Again, I cannot comment on the novel or the movie’s faithfulness to the novel. However if the novel is half as well done as the movie, it, too, should be an excellent read. I don’t think I should read it for some time, however, as my view of it will be clouded by the movie, especially if there are any significant divergences.
All in all, I rate Bridge to Terabithia as an excellent film for the entire family.