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Review: 'Fairy Tale' magical
November 5, 1997
Web posted at: 4:40 p.m. EST (2140 GMT)From Reviewer Paul Tatara
(CNN) -- I wasn't asked by CNN to review "Fairy Tale: A True Story" upon its debut, the logic being, I assume, that I would just end up making fun of small children. Anyway, one night, with nothing better to do except get rained on, I popped into a theater where "Fairy Tale" was playing. And something magical happened.
OK, maybe not magical, but wholly unexpected. I actually started to enjoy a movie about two little girls who claim to have taken photographs of a couple of dancing woodland sprites. After a while, I was shocked to find that I was still enjoying it, so I broke out my trusty legal pad and started jotting down notes. Look out, America, here comes a positive review of "Fairy Tale: A True Story," courtesy of Mr. Cynical.
The story is not exactly true, by the way. Or if it is, then it's true in the same way as one of Oliver Stone's "let's just make up this part" historical epics. It's based on the adventures of a couple of British schoolgirls (played with charming authority by Florence Hoath and Elizabeth Earl) who, in 1917, took a camera out in the woods and photographed each other posing with some little cardboard fairies that they had drawn the day before.
Amazingly, after these photographs were published in a magazine, a lot people believed what they were seeing was real. Photography was a relatively new art form, so playing tricks with a camera was something that most people couldn't begin to grasp. And they sure couldn't believe little girls were capable of it. (The actual photos, by the way, are patently phony looking, but you have to get a kick out of such innocent gullibility.)
Just as amazingly, the main proponent of this naiveté was that scion of logic himself, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes. Peter O'Toole wisely plays Conan Doyle as a weary, desperate believer. He's haunted by the death of his son, and finding a concrete connection to other-worldly beings is good for his soul. For the most part, the movie is about wanting to believe, as much as it's about actually believing. Think of that girl you know who's convinced her cat "says things" to her. Now remove the cat and add a belief in fairies. There. That's what the movie's like.
In a strange bit of casting that actually works, legendary magician Harry Houdini, the voice of reason, is played by Harvey Keitel. That's what I said. Now, I don't know about you, but when I see Keitel breathing funny and sticking a gun in some drug dealer's mouth during one of his movies, I don't usually think, "This guy's missed his calling. He should be doing kids' films." But here he is, trying to convince his friend Sir Arthur that somebody is playing a trick, either the girls or their grown-up keepers.
The cool thing about the movie is that director Charles Sturridge manages to have it both ways. We never really find out if the girls are perpetrating a massive hoax; we just know that lots of people who should know better are primed to believe them. Even during actual fairy sightings (there's a phrase that you don't see often), we're never sure if the girls are really being visited by the little critters or if they're just hoping that's what's happening. Either way, the fairies are sweet-looking things that thankfully don't smell of digital-era mega-effects. They look more like little ballerina bugs, which is another phrase that doesn't get bandied about the way it should.
The cinematography is gorgeous, with the British countryside glowing in sunlight. It has none of the tacky cartoonishness that mars so many children's films. I couldn't start to tell you what a modern 7-year-old will think of this, since most of them are sitting in front of the TV right now playing a video game in which they try to kick people into a coma, but you should drag one along anyway. That way no one will look askew while you enjoy it.
"Fairy Tale: A True Story" contains several horrifying impalings, and one fairy's head gets crushed in a car door. Not really. It's all perfectly harmless, and looks nice to boot. Keep your eyes peeled for Mel Gibson, and this time I'm not kidding. Rated PG. 97 minutes.
Related story:
- On gossamer wings: Fact or fiction - October 22, 1997
Related sites:
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- "Fairy Tale: A True Story" - official site
- Internet Movie Database
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