The Magic Faraway Tree
by Hope Madden
“The magic of childhood is always forgot, but this is the story of one who did not.”
So begins The Magic Faraway Tree, director Ben Gregor’s fantasy about unplugging the family and rediscovering magic.
Tim Thompson (Andrew Garfield) is the one adult still searching for some joy, maybe even magic, for his family. When his wife Polly (Claire Foy) quits her corporate job (and the family immediately loses the corporate apartment and car), Tim has a grand idea. They’ll move to the country, live off the land and make pasta sauce.
Garfield’s a brilliant fit as the emotionally available dad, ready to make friends with a rooster and play Gregorian chants for his tomato plants. Tim and Polly’s kids fare less well without their devices, until they find a giant magic tree and make friends with the mainly friendly fae folk who live therein.
These folk include a fairy (Nicola Coughlan), a pixie (Hiran Abeysekera), and a saucepan man (Dustin Demri-Burns). What?
Writer Simon Farnaby (Paddington 2) adapts one of Enid Blyton’s beloved old books to tell a good story, but it’s caught in a trap. The fantastical elements are fun and brightly colored, but not nearly as interesting as the family drama.
This is partly a testament to the talent of the cast. Both Foy and Garfield are routinely wonderful but rarely does either get to play a loving parent and spouse finding silly ways to be with their family. Both seem to truly enjoy the work.
The child actors (Billie Gadsdon, Delilah Bennett-Cardy, and Phoenix Laroche) charm scene after scene. The crux of the drama falls on Bennett-Cardy, and she handles it beautifully.
Rebecca Ferguson, however, is criminally underused as the villainous Miss Snap. This is part of the trouble. The film gives more space to the non-magical side of the story, which leaves the magical portion feeling underfed.
It’s unfortunate that Gregor couldn’t find a more whimsical balance for the film, or simply streamlined the fae adventure to a more precise, if smaller, supporting side plot. Instead, the family drama feels like a full film often weighed down by a shapeless, overly busy but under developed side quest.
