Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017)

I saw this film on a plane coming back from a trip to London, where oddly enough, I had been taken to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace by a tour guide named Alice. NOT a kid's film and I'm sure there was some misconception about that, but it's a wonderful film. Moves slowly in spots, but well acted and has a beautiful look to it. The mother was atrocious, and the dad misguided, and I don't know how realistic that was, but the film worked.

Writer Alan Milne returns from World War I suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He and wife Daphne have a child, Christopher Robin but known as Billy Moon, and move to the country where the child is largely brought up by his nanny Nou. When she takes a leave of absence to look after her mother, Billy grows close to his father, and the seeds for the Winnie the Pooh books begin to grow. Their success takes the family by surprise and Billy's childhood is sacrificed on the altar of Pooh Bear's commercialism. The legacy of being the actual Christopher Robin never leaves Billy, ruining his adolescence, although he later comes to terms with the importance of his father's books and their characters to the wider world.This biographical film dramatises the three intertwined stories of AA Milne, Christopher Robin Milne, and Winnie the Pooh. We see all the elements of the Pooh story as they occur and, thankfully, they are shown gracefully rather than being shoehorned into the story with clumsy ugliness.But although the familiarity with Winnie the Pooh gives a warm glow to some aspects of the film, this is not a happy tale. Milne is a damaged man who does his best, fighting against the burden of his war experiences. His wife is not a sympathetic character: when she does the right thing, you get the feeling that this is because she knows she ought to rather than because she genuinely wants to. And both of them are clearly emotional people trapped behind a belief that emotions should be kept tightly under control. A sequence towards the end is telling, when Nou is the only person to show the adult Christopher physical affection.Domnhall Gleeson and Margot Robbie are both excellent as the Milnes, with Kelly Macdonald superb as Nou. Will Tilston is good as 8-year old Billy, although I found him a little too cutesy to sympathise with as much as I should have. Alex Lawther is very good as the older Christopher.And there is a sad footnote: Christopher Milne never took a penny from the immense amount of money earned by his father's Winnie-the-Pooh books, so bitter was he about the extent to which they blighted his life.

I could call this a movie to end all movies, making a play on the old phrase coined by H. G. Wells about WWI, the "War to End All Wars". What a genius piece of work this film is, I loved it even though I felt like an emotional wreck at the end. I grew up adoring Disney's adaptation of Winnie the Pooh & only several years ago did I learn that A. A. Milne's only child was the inspiration for his beloved children's books. However, this film carries enough trauma, sadness, & loss in it to last a lifetime. Instead of being a sweet story as I assumed, it was heartbreaking to watch the 6 to 8 year old real life Christopher Robin (called Billy Moon by his family) deal with things even the strongest adults wouldn't be able to handle. His proper British & very privileged parents not only didn't know how to show their love, but thrust him into the crazed world of publicity with the adoration of fans worldwide wreaking havoc with his childhood & ultimately causing him to abhor that which made them rich and famous. I am sorry now that I didn't see this in a theater during its short runtime as the cinematography was breathtaking showing us the richness of the world that the Milnes lived in during the first half of the 20th century. The directing, writing, editing, sound, & acting were all top notch. Firstly, Domhnall Gleeson is a talent to behold. I never see him as any other character I have seen him portray previously over many years, like I do with some actors. He has the supreme ability to become any character & embody that persona perfectly, like a chameleon. In this case, he shows us the sad tragic figure of the famous author that was never shown in public. Margot Robbie portrayed his wife & Billy Moon's mum exactly the way I imagine she was. Kelly McDonald who I feel is under appreciated by critics portrays Billy Moon's nanny, Olive, (called Nou by Billy), with a simple but strong love for the boy that makes us feel he should have been her son. Alex Lawther did well as the 18+ year old Christopher Robin in the few scenes he had showing a nice range of emotions, & appears to have a nice career ahead of him in acting. & last but definitely not least, Will Tilston played the younger version of Christopher Robin so well, he had me in tears quickly & easily whenever he was sad, upset, or even angry, then smiling when he was happy or excited. That's an actor right there. Hopefully we will see him again soon. One more thing I would like to add is the beautiful score by Carter Burwell was outstanding with its emotional tracks setting up each scene & driving the movie along at the right pace.

A real heart touching movie. All cast are great especially Will Tilston lovely child who acts young Christopher Robin. It is so real and so soft acting. A fantastic movie, a must watch movie, an archival movie. If you wish to see what you are missing during a life time, do not forget to watch this wonderful movie. This film can be a source of inspiration to you to be aware of this feeling. Never late to see what you are about to miss or what you have been missing.Domhnall Gleeson, Margot Robbie, Kelly Macdonald are also fantastic. They are one of the most powerful points to make the movie a better quality.Thanks to every single person who contribute to create "Goodbye Christopher Robin."